Jack Kerouac

An item at American Writers Museum

In 1957, Viking Press published On the Road, a fictionalized account of author Jack Kerouac's numerous cross country trips. Kerouac famously drafted the book in a three-week explosion of "spontaneous prose," lending the text a jazz like cadence and stream-of-consciousness narrative. On the Road became a defining work of the Beat Generation, a loose collaborative of artists and writers who rejected the mainstream in favor of the experimental and spiritual.

Kerouac's fascination with American vernacular stemmed, in part, from his origins as a cultural outsider. He was the son of French-Canadian immigrants and did not begin speaking English until age six.

AMERICAN VOICES

An exhibit at American Writers Museum

American writing is distinctive, diverse, and comes in many forms from across the nation. The 100 authors featured here represent the evolution of American writing. Learn more about each writer on the timeline by turning the panels below their portraits. Explore centuries of writing by pulling, turning, and touching the interactive elements on the counter.

This is not meant to be a list of the greatest or most influential writers. Instead, we present authors and works as part of the American story as it grows and changes. Taken together, this rich literary heritage reflects America in all of its complexity: its energy, hope, conflict, disillusionment, and creativity.

American Writers Museum