Jack Kerouac..."Beat Atlas" chronicles author's haunts! San Francisco library event!



Fans of Jack Kerouac have probably taken a trek around North Beach to retrace the footsteps of one of the beat generation’s most celebrated personalities.

The author of “On the Road” – yet to be adapted for the big screen - kicked around San Francisco’s bohemian artsy-fartsy neighborhood on the edge of Chinatown with pals like legendary poet Allen Ginsberg (Howl) during the heady days of his sky-rocketing fame in literary circles.

Today, the Jack Kerouac Museum on Broadway, exalts the writer to cult status by virtue of its extensive collection of memorabilia and a bevy of publications - great and small in stature - which have painstakingly chronicled every fascinating chapter of his life in minute detail.

Although the territory has been fairly well-documented to date, Kerouac fans may be interested in attending an upcoming event slated for April 26th at the Main Library in downtown San Francisco

Author Bill Morgan will discuss his latest book the - “Beat Atlas” - which takes a state-by-state look at the haunts Jack Kerouac and his buddies frequented on their infamous trek across the country which was subject matter for Kerouac’s notorious best-seller.

For example, Morgan not only reveals the park where Kerouac hiked in “Dharma Bums”, but also tosses the spotlight on the location where Ginsberg first read his controversial poem which landed him in court on obscenity charges.

Readers of the Tattler may recall that I penned a post on Kerouac, Ginsberg - and their merry gang of followers (poets, artists, political activists) - on a prior trip to San Francisco.

Post: 02/11/2008


http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2008/02/jack-kerouacbeat-museum-characters-of.html

Post: 09/05/2010

http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2010/09/howllife-times-of-allen-ginsberg.html

Whether Mr. Morgan manages to turn up anything delicious intriguing (or enlightening insightful) tidbits to gobble up – at this juncture – remains to be seen.

If not, he may have to re-title his tome, the “Road Well Travelled”!

But, I applaud the ballsy effort, nonetheless!

http://www.thetattler.biz

Sundance Film Festival...Howl screens in San Francisco! January 28th...

James Franco portrays Ginsberg in HOWL!

This year, San Francisco will participate in a newly-introduced facet of the Sundance Film Festival, to celebrate Independent filmmakers.

On January 28th, the film HOWL (starring James Franco) will screen at the Sundance Kabuki.

Over the past two years, festival organizers in Park City (Utah) have been forced to face the bitter reality that their fest is not as popular or relevant as it once was on the circuit.

I expect this twist is a last-ditch effort to bolster its image under the guise of reaching out.

For me, the announcement was somewhat synchronistic in nature.

Last year when I was in town (I've vactioned in the Bay area over the years since 1972) I attended a remarkable stage performance of HOWL which was produced locally and garnered a lot of critical acclaim.

And, at the Jack Kerouac museum in North Beach, I met a handful of Allen Ginsberg's friends - which prompted me to research and pen a post on HOWL, Ginsberg, and a gang of renowned writers - who used to hang out in North Beach during the "Beat" era.

Post: 02/13/08

http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2008/02/howlginsberg-controversy-recalled.html

I feel a bit of a psychic bond with Ginsberg, too, because of an eerie coincidence.

When I first conceived my concept for my blog, out-of-the-blue, the name "Tattler" kept bouncing around inside my head as I toyed with conceptual ideas and my subsequent vision for the blogosphere entity.

The "Tattler" stuck and has been growing in leaps and bounds ever since.

Curiously, when I was deep in my research on Mr. Ginsberg, I was startled to discover that the celebrated author was once the editor of the school newspaper - The Tattler - at Columbia University.

Was the openly-gay artist influencing me from the spirit world?

This inquiring mind wants to know!

http://www.julianayrs.com

Julian Ayrs dot com..surges with overseas hits! Jack Kerouac said it best...

Bai Ling rustles up search fever!

I was thrilled this past week when I perused the stats at my personal web site (http://www.julianayrs.com/) and caught sight of the staggering leap in numbers mid-week(especially in respect to overseas visitors and actual hits).

Out-of-the-blue, web surfers started flocking to my Pop Culture site from far-off exotic locales such as, Singapore, India, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany.

Was it a post (or specific graphic?) that triggered the intriguing phenomenon?

A promo on Werner Herzog (which included a link to a Q & A session at a screening) may have accounted for a flurry of activity out of Germany (especially in view of the fact I made mention of the "New Wave" movement in film which sprang from there).

http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2009/07/werner-herzogto-sign-conquest-offering.html

But, why the sudden flurry of hits from Singapore, India, Malaysia, and Indonesia?

Did I mention a popular star from the far east that was inclined to rev up fan-based visits?

Although there hasn't been a recent post on Bai Ling (a sexy Asian actress I often feature), it did not escape my attention that during the numbers explosion, the stat tabulator logged a raft of searches for Ms. Ling at my two blog sites.

http://www.ijulian.blogspot.com/

http://www.julian1st.wordpress.com/

The following post (though weeks old) has been nabbing g a lot of attention:

http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2009/04/newport-beach-film-festivalbai-ling.html

Maybe it was the Sharon Tate press release about the upcoming ICON Exhibit in Culver City (& the Hugh Hefner videotape interview of Sharon Tate & Roman Polanski) that peaked curiosity among foreign film buffs?

http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2009/07/sharon-tatemacabre-tribute-to-charles.html

Ah-ha, betcha it was the teaser about studly Justin Timberlake and the Givency scents ("Play" & "Play Intense") just released in European markets (both colognes due out on these shores come fall) that got hearts going pit-a-patter (and keyboards chattering).

http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2009/07/justin-timberlaketo-rustle-up-dollars.html

News of GQ's publishing venture into China at the end of the year (with flattering references about the stylish "Little Emperors" being catered to) may have also caused elated fashionistas to scurry for the delicious details.

http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2009/07/gqbows-to-great-wall-of-china-conde.html

This inquiring mind wants to know!

After all, establishing the kind of posted material (fashion trends, gossip, consumer info) the far-flung (at times fickle) madding crowd is inclined to glom onto, may be a key factor in establishing a strong foothold on the World Wide Web.

Dick Clarke once joked:

"I don't set trends, I just find out what they are and exploit them."

In the final analysis, I figure you can't second guess people in the topsy-turvy world of the arts, anyway.

Why would I want to?

Jack Kerouac said it best:

"Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends & fads & popular opinion".

Amen!

Top Hit-getters @ The Tattler & Pop Culture websites

Daniel Radcliffe
Michael Phelps
Paris Hilton
Bai Ling
Janine Turner
Barack Obama


http://www.julianayrs.com