I recently attended a couple events held at a nearby home. I was drawn, not only by the events (a storytelling open mic night and a book launch party), but by a famous former occupant, Jack Kerouac.
The modest block home, where Jack lived the last two years of his life, is tucked on a shady lane in a quiet neighborhood. It’s a far cry from the rowdy, free roaming life he extolled in his books (most famously, On the Road). But, then again, maybe that’s fitting since Jack himself was a juxtaposition.
Regarded as the “father of the Beat Generation” he was a devout Catholic who loathed the hedonism of the counterculture that he helped spawn (and participated in). I’m not sure how he managed to square that with his professed beliefs but I suppose we all have our contradictions.
Though Jack died in 1969, the family trust held onto the property until November 2020 when it was sold to a retired professor of literature. Shortly after purchasing the house, Ken Burchenal and his wife Gina, founded a nonprofit with the goal of promoting local arts, artists, and (counter)culture here in St. Petersburg.
It occurs to me that Jack would abhor the almost museum-like nature of the house (it came with most of the original furnishings) but I think he’d appreciate the events hosted there. I know I’m looking forward to more of them!
“Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain!”
3rin's View... 