Jack Kerouac Centennial Events

THE JACK KEROUAC ESTATE AND KEROUAC @ 100 COMMITTEE
SHARE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FOR 
CENTENNIAL BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION 
FOR FAMED NOVELIST, WRITER, POET AND ARTIST 
JACK KEROUAC 
TAKING PLACE IN HIS LOWELL, MA HOMETOWN 
STARTING IN MARCH

EVENTS TO INCLUDE RETURN OF ORIGINAL 
‘ON THE ROAD’ SCROLL
ON LOAN FROM THE JIM IRSAY COLLECTION, GUIDED BUS TOURS,
MUSICAL EVENTS, READINGS, ART GALLERIES & MORE 

To mark the centennial birthday anniversary of world-renowned “Beat Generation” pioneer, novelist, writer, poet and artist JACK KEROUAC, THE JACK KEROUAC ESTATE and the Kerouac @ 100 Committee have planned an array of events and happenings to take place in his Lowell, MA hometown starting in his birth month of March. See a full list of happenings and details below.
 
“March 12th, 2022 will be the 100th anniversary of the birth of Lowell, Massachusetts’ favorite native son, Jack Kerouac, and folks the world over are weighing in on the enduring legacy of his work,” states Jim Sampas, Literary Executor of the Estate of Jack Kerouac. “The celebration of his centennial this March in his hometown will include important artifacts, such as an exhibit of the original ‘On the Road’ scroll manuscript, and for the first time ever in one place, all the photographs of Kerouac taken by one of his dearest friends, Allen Ginsberg. There will be readings, film screenings, and musical performances, all paying tribute to one of the most important authors of our time, and the versatility and openness of Kerouac’s work.”
 
Kerouac has been praised and cited as an influence for several of the most well-known public figures in music, entertainment, literature, fashion, and politics ranging from President Barack Obama to David Bowie to Francis Ford Coppola to Hunter S. Thompson and many more.  Kerouac was recently the inspiration for DIOR HOMME creative director Kim Jones’ 2022 fall show with a collection that nodded to the Beat Generation style and featured an 80-meter-long facsimile of Kerouac’s generation-defining literary classic 'On The Road.’ See photos from the show in London via Vogue HERE.
 
The upcoming festivities will feature the return of a portion of the original 120-foot-long ‘On The Road’ scroll--which Time Magazine included as one of the best novels of the last 100 years—on loan from The Jim Irsay Collection as part of the exhibit ‘Visions of Kerouac’ which will be free to the public on Friday, March 18 at the Lowell National Historical Park’s Boott Cotton Mills Gallery. Further details are included below. 
 
“The ‘On the Road’ scroll manuscript is one of the most important and fascinating manuscripts in American literary history,” proclaims Michael Millner (Director, UMass Lowell Kerouac Center). “American literature and American culture more broadly were never the same after ‘On the Road,’ and this is rare opportunity to experience the manuscript–and it is certainly an experience.”  

The celebration will also include the two-day Town and the City Festival on April 8 and 9, featuring musical performances and other cultural events at venues across Downtown Lowell.

Artists at the festival, named for Kerouac’s novel of the same title, will include the Adam Ezra Group, Tanya Donelly & Parkington Sisters, Robyn Hitchcock, Will Dailey, Alisa Amador, Aaron & The Lord, Robin Lane, RoseR, Colleen Green, Lowell Chamber Orchestra, Naomi Westwater, Arthur Terembula, Tell, The Old Rochelle, TVO, Free Soil Arts Collective and the Cambodian American Literary Association, among others.

The April 8 and 9 weekend will also feature the first ever Town and The City Festival Record Show from 12 to 5 p.m. at Mill No. 5. Attendees will be able to shop for vinyl and other collectibles from over 30 vendors as well as enjoy live music.

“Music was important to Jack Kerouac as Jack was to countless music makers,” says Chris Porter, President of the Jack Kerouac Foundation Board of Directors. “Both Willie Loco Alexander (who released his well-known song ‘Kerouac’ in the 1970’s) and Frank Morey have been significantly touched by Jack’s writings and their respective performances will be perfect finales to a special day of talk, poetry, and song celebrating Kerouac’s 100th birthday.”