Ann Charters

by woesong

Posted to WritersAndGenres on 2004-01-07 19:06:00

Parent message is 577226
I think Kerouac came out in 1973. It was not well-received by the Beaterati, at least those around Carolyn Cassady. I heard it referred to on the radio by one of the pundits of that pasture as “a disservice to scholarship.” I remember she took the Ginsberg bust which sent him to Bellvue out of the newspapers, but I think later printings corrected that.

Ann Charters contacted Carolyn Cassady only when her book was set to go to press. Now, why would you be doing a bio of Kerouac and not at least call Carolyn Cassady? Ann Charters ran into Carolyn in the office of Straight Arrow Books, and she asked about the drug bust in North Beach. Carolyn had a motor mouth, so she told her everything. Allowed Ann Charters to come to her house in Los Gatos and literally copy out of her own manuscript!

Carolyn repented of it immediately. Went back to Straight Arrow Books and asked that all she had given Charters be removed. It was.

Carolyn had done what she called a “cookbook” astrology reading of Kerouac for the first edition of Kerouac. I think it was extirpated from all future printings.