Jack Kerouac's Buddhism and the American Search for Enlightenment
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€97.99
A01=Sarah F. Haynes
american fiction
archival material
Author_Sarah F. Haynes
beat generation
Buddhism
Category=DS
Category=QRF
Category=QRV
cold war period
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
post-war
pre-enlightenment
religion and literature
religious beliefs
Product details
- ISBN 9781350134751
- Dimensions: 156 x 234mm
- Publication Date: 12 Dec 2024
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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Sarah F. Haynes provides a detailed analysis of Jack Kerouac’s unpublished diaries and Buddhist writing alongside the Buddhism presented in his published works. Kerouac’s involvement with Buddhism is traditionally accepted to have occurred between 1953-1958. However, his unpublished diaries reveal that he continued to write about Buddhism until at least 1967.
Haynes’ comparative analysis of Kerouac's unpublished documents provides a richer and more complete understanding of Kerouac's Buddhist practice. She reflects on the differences between the themes in Kerouac’s published and unpublished Buddhism, arguing that Kerouac’s Buddhism is based in his search for stability, which is contradictory to the messages in his published works. Kerouac’s unpublished writings reveal his inability to actualize the lifestyle he promoted. Despite this conflict, however, the impact and legacy of Kerouac’s religious vision on the development of Buddhism in America is significant.
Sarah F. Haynes is Professor of Asian Religions and Director of the Master of Liberal Arts & Sciences Program in the Department of Liberal Arts & Sciences at the Western Illinois University, USA.
