Joyce Johnson's Door Wide Open http://www.examiner.com/x-8359-Denver-Books-Examiner~y2009m9d4-Joyce-Johnsons-Door-Wide-Open
September 4, 2009 Zack Kopp Joyce Johnson's Door Wide Open, a compilation of letters exchanged with Jack Kerouac during their affair, offers a broad, believable view of the so-called "Beat Generation", a group of writers infamous for its lack of strong female voices. Johnson's book provides a bird's eye glimpse of the gritty world behind the novels and poems of the Beats. She was one loyal port-of-call in New York for that that circle of writers at a time when they were gallivanting all over the globe, keeping Jack up-to-date on news and gossip as he came and went. We see her as the nervous shy girl acting cool for Kerouac's benefit, and get a sense of him as a tragically flawed but good-hearted coward. The contents of the letters in this book refer to events from the couple's first meeting, after being fixed up by Allen Ginsberg, until their affairwhich took place after the release of On the Road an important period in Kerouac's lifehad become a friendship. The letters are supplemented by Johnson's narration and related correspondence from friends and relatives. . --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sixties-L" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sixties-l?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
