Fascinating group of three letters from Kerouac to John Montgomery, one of his close friends who figured as the character 'Henry Morley' in The Dharma Bums. All are on 5.5 x 3.25 postcards, signed "Jack," postmarked 1960-1961.
The first, an ALS postmarked December 12, 1960, in full: "Letter follows soon—received Lord Buckley's drinking mug—& your strange letters—your prose infinitely better than your verse especially when you forget to be 'officially literary' I'd say—You oughta be a columnist—So McGraw Hill too cheap to send you book?—I've none left here—Well, steal one—or write one!"
The second, an ALS postmarked December 20, 1960, in full: "Yr. huge letters hard to answer at this time (but easy to read)—I'se in trouble with law courts—will answer you when case is over—Russia River sure sounds nice—Oh yes. Yr. picture at Ross Lake country came the glass all smashed but I tack't it up—Snow have just stopped, the evening star is out—but I feel strangled by this ex-wife stuff—You'll see in papers."
The third, a TLS postmarked January 19, 1961, in full: "I'm dying to answer you…but yr letters are non sequitur…an old Latin world meaning Oops…The old thing has lost control…O me. Anyway, this summer I wd. like definitely to meet you, go in yr. Japanese jeepster and (findsi) and find sites for peace." Kerouac adds handwritten notes to the margins: "Dear John Montgomery:—(or is it Montmorecy?)" and "Everybody sends disenchanted reports from South America."
In overall fine condition, with some light scattered dampstaining. Montgomery would go on to publish multiple memoirs about Kerouac in the 1970s and 1980s. A fantastic archive of letters from famed Beat Generation writer, whose distinct style is evident even in this concise postcard prose.
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