Public Benefit and Jack Kerouac
Courtesy The Jack Kerouac Foundation and SCB Architects
The Jack Kerouac Foundation is on the road, searching for donations. OK, dumb #ontheroad joke — and the Foundation is not on the road, per se. BUT it has kicked off a capital campaign as it seeks funding for what will hopefully be The Jack Kerouac Museum and Performance Center, repurposing the former St. Jean Baptiste Church in Lowell, MA, where Kerouac once served as an altar boy and where his funeral was held in 1969. This was first reported in the Boston Globe in early January 2022…which I found out about because a news story from Boston.com showed up in my newsfeed the other day sharing that architectural renderings are now complete and public. (See pictures, obviously! And btw, all 4 images are courtesy of The Jack Kerouac Foundation & SCB Architects.)
I’ve been thinking a lot about the ways authors’ work — and how it’s memorialized — play a part in our cultural recognition, appreciation, and understanding. Is there a “public benefit” to the written word, particularly after authors have passed on? It’s really easy in today’s climate of hyper “book banning” to be all “books are important!” Well, ok…I’m not sure anyone is really arguing with that statement at face value. So I’m not particularly interested in facile statements like that. Based on a couple of conversations I’ve had plus some grant-making criteria that surprised me recently, I’d like to explore “the role of the written word” a bit in the coming weeks. In many ways, it’s going back to the roots of this (very small, I realize) account and why I started it. Yes, I like sharing about specific books…but I think there’s a “why” beyond just sharing recommendations.
In the meantime, what do you think of this cool-looking rendering? The space intends to be “a connective thread to the community, where artists of all stripes can perform and exhibit, and young writers of all ages from area schools can learn and share their craft,” according to the foundation, as quoted in the Boston.com piece.
And maybe more importantly, what other cultural spaces honoring authors can you think of and what role do they play in the greater cultural landscape? #PublicBenefit
Ed. note: Since originally posting this on Instagram, I noticed that Zach Bryan has purchased Saint Jean Baptiste in order to bring these plans closer to reality.
originally published on instagram