Jack Kerouac

小簡(jiǎn)介
杰克·凱魯亞克（1922—1969）美國小說家。生于馬薩諸塞州洛厄爾城的一個(gè)信奉天主教的工人家庭。第二次世界大戰(zhàn)期間，他曾在美國海軍服役，1942年為《太陽報(bào)》的體育記者，戰(zhàn)后從事寫作。1952年，他在舊金山南太平洋鐵路上當(dāng)過搬運(yùn)工，游歷過美國各地和墨西哥，也曾去美國博物館尋根。凱魯亞克是美國五十年代中期崛起的“垮掉的一代”的重要代表人物之一，他一生共創(chuàng)作了18部小說，大多帶有自傳性質(zhì)。他的第一部小說《鄉(xiāng)村與城市》（1950）是一部按照風(fēng)俗和歷史事件的編年體例來描寫家庭和社會(huì)的史詩，當(dāng)時(shí)并未引起社會(huì)的注意?！对诼飞稀罚?957）則是在幾個(gè)星期之內(nèi)寫成的，以后幾年沒有再修改，小說結(jié)構(gòu)松散，斷斷續(xù)續(xù)，描寫一群年輕人的荒誕不經(jīng)的生活經(jīng)歷，反映了戰(zhàn)后美國青年的精神空虛和渾渾噩噩的狀態(tài)。凱魯亞克的第三部小說《地下室居民》（1958）敘述了一群“垮掉分子”在舊金山整日酗酒，縱欲、吸毒的所謂生活。《達(dá)摩流浪者》（1958）題材與上一篇小說相似，但蘊(yùn)含著某種高深的東方哲理。接著，凱魯亞克又有兩部小說閃電般地問世《薩克斯醫(yī)生》（1959）和《麥琪·卡西迪》（1959）均包含著作者的自傳成份，充斥著失去信仰的年輕人的苦悶，彷徨和消極對(duì)抗情緒?？傊?，凱魯亞克的作品藝術(shù)性稍差，但對(duì)社會(huì)現(xiàn)實(shí)有獨(dú)到的認(rèn)識(shí)。他本人的晚年生活也很不幸，終因酗酒過度而導(dǎo)致死亡。
Jack Kerouac was the major writer of the "Beat" movement in the '50s. His major work was On the Road (1957), an autobiographical novel describing his travels in the company of a unique character named Dean Moriarty (in real life, Neal Cassady). In later novels, Kerouac told other tales of life on the road and also wrote of his childhood and upbringing in Lowell, MA. Although he was a profound influence on the youth of the '60s (and although Cassady, in contrast, enthusiastically joined in on the hippie movement as part of the Merry Pranksters and as a mentor to the Grateful Dead), Kerouac largely disavowed the hedonism and drug use of the '60s counterculture. His poetry and novels continue to influence young people decades after his death.