Why does Jack Kerouac Matter?

Answer 1

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Jack Kerouac does not matter.There were a handful of New Yorkers in the 1950s who kept insisting the beats were important.
In the 1950s there were no rebels,so Kerouac seemed like he might be.Think of a bunch of lit profs at Columbia U and some nebbish book editors leading lives of quiet desperation and seing Kerouac as living the lives they would have led if they had the courage to take to the road.At this time all book publishing,magazine publishing,and TV was the monopoly of a handful of New Yorkers who set trends,real or bogus.
All the so-called rebels of 50s pop culture were self-destructive and ended badly.

Source(s):

talking to people who lived through this period