On the Road to Lost Fathers: Jack Kerouac in a Lacanian Perspective

The book examines the correspondences between the oeuvre of Jack Kerouac and the thought of Jacques Lacan. It sets off analyzing the reasons for Kerouac's aversion towards psychoanalysis, proceeds with discussing textual spontaneity, and concludes with a scrupulous analysis of the father figure(s) in Kerouac's cycle of the Duluoz Legend.

The book is the first monograph which examines the correspondences between the oeuvre of Jack Kerouac and the thought of Jacques Lacan, the two apparently incompatible worlds which prove to be complementary when taking a closer look. The study demonstrates a number of points. Firstly, with Jacques Lacan as a silent partner, it helps to better understand why psychoanalysis won Kerouac's enmity in the mid-1950s. It also delves into Lacan's reflections on spontaneous free-association to prove their convergence with Beats' literary tactics. In its final part, by employing Lacanian theory, the book offers an extensive insight into Kerouac's oeuvre to excavate the problematic status of the father figure, a crucial matter not yet given a rigorous critical attention.

Autorentext

Tomasz Sawczuk is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Philology, the University of Bialystok (Poland). He has published articles on American literature and co-edited a book on Visuality and Vision in American Literature. His research interests include Beat studies, critical theory, experimental and concrete literature.

Inhalt

The development of psychoanalysis in the United States Fundamental Lacanian concepts, literary studies and American literature: Lacanian perspectives Kerouac and psychoanalysis in America Textual spontaneity and Lacanian theory Father figures in the Duluoz Legend