THE BUDDHIST YEARS
COLLECTED WRITINGS
by Jack Kerouac
Scheduled US Release In Stores: May 6, 2025
Edited by Charles Shuttleworth
Rare Bird Books and Sal Paradise Press announce the latest release in their partnership and collaboration with The Estate of Jack Kerouac. The Buddhist Years: Collected Writings is a brand-new volume of previously unpublished writings from the archives reflecting Jack Kerouac’s Buddhist thinking.
"The Kerouac archive is very much part of Jack's legacy. While he was alive, he wrote incessantly, and he saved it all hoping that it would prove of value to others. It's a huge record of his life— his feelings, perceptions, and, especially with The Buddhist Years, his spirituality. I'm excited to be bringing all this great work to the public." —Jim Sampas, Literary Executor of the Estate of Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac’s archive is vast. Throughout his life he was constantly writing, and he meticulously saved and catalogued his material. The result is that beyond the work published in his lifetime there has been a rich stream of posthumous writing that is far from tapped, adding depth to his lifework—the Duluoz Legend—and our understanding of Kerouac the man. Far from being the adrenalized thrill-seeker that he depicted in On the Road’s Dean Moriarty, Kerouac himself was deeply spiritual, shy, and reclusive. He sought adventures for the sake of experience, needing them to fuel his writing, which according to him was his sole reason for living. Few people sacrificed more for their art.
From a young age Kerouac was a spiritual thinker and questioner, and he always considered himself a spiritual writer. Buddhism gave more meaning to Jack’s work as a writer: he was working not for personal accomplishment and glory but for human betterment. And Buddhism justified his lifestyle: with its vision of the material world as empty and illusory, he was free to do what he wanted.
This collection shows Jack at his earnest, soulful best. The writing is consistently and wonderfully Kerouacian: it is honest, reflective, heartfelt, and revealing, with great characterizations amid his self-exploration as he wrestles with his consciousness, desperate for belief.
"The fourth installment of Rare Bird's collaboration co-publishing with The Jack Kerouac Estate, The Buddhist Years is an important collection that, in many ways, is as current and relevant now as it was then. Unearthing the Kerouac archives continues to be a remarkable and rewarding process that we hope will create even more breadth to an already dimensiondefying mind." —Tyson Cornell, Publisher of Rare Bird Books
The Buddhist Years is the latest in a series of joint releases from Rare Bird and Sal Paradise Press. Together, they’ve released two other titles featuring previously unpublished writing from the Kerouac Estate archives: Desolation Peak (2022), Truth and Beautiful Meaningful Lies (2023), and Self-Portrait (2024).
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