The Library Vault

Kerouac:  A Biography 
By Ann Charters 

A breeze wisps against my face as the wind tunnels through my soul. Grey marks the sky and the painted art on the buildings tell a story of community. The passerby’s are dressed to impress, while I am bundled head to toe. The cold doesn’t phase these brave souls, while it infects my bones. Shattered bicycles line the streets and broken lights flash their way to existence, reminding the people that they still have a heartbeat. 

I arrive at my destination, East Village Books on St. Mark’s Place in New York City. I enter the wooden burrow, engulfed with shelves spilling over with books. The term claustrophobia does not exist. I hone in on a section labeled “Revolutionary,” in yellow lined legal paper written in blue point pen. I peruse the titles, some are familiar and some are too radical. I come across the title Kerouac. I am instantly intrigued.

Jack Kerouac and I have a love-hate relationship. Did I ever know the man? No, but his writing has an affect on me. It is not inspirational, but it does something. I cannot pinpoint exactly what it is, but has touched my soul in a way that not too many writers have. Jack Kerouac, is famous for his novel On the Road. Some may say it defined a generation. I think it spoke to lost souls trying to find their way home. I am not sure Kerouac ever found his true home; he died too young to find his solace. 

Kerouac was not “troubled.” I think the right way to describe him was “lost.” He aspired to be one of the greats: James Joyce, Shakespeare, and Proust are just to name a few. He wanted to be the voice of his generation. Some say he was, but he didn’t see it that way. The generation that praised his words, were people he could not identify with. Kerouac was your average French Canadian boy from Lowell, Massachusetts. Not a radical with revolutionary views, but a Catholic who was quite conservative. 

Men romanticize him, while women thought they could fix him. He was never able to stay married or hold a serious relationship. Kerouac would finish every novel back home with his mother, fending off a bender and alone. Which leads us to Ann Charters’ biography. Charters begins the biography towards the end of Kerouac life, while he was living with his mother in Hyannis, Cape Cod. Charters prolifically captures the reader into the havoc that is known as Kerouac’s life. Jack’s novels are autobiographic, he is the definition of “write what you know.” The reader follows his life while he writes spontaneously under the influences of copious elixirs. Charters portrays him honestly, but not without just-cause. I think Kerouac haunts Charters, the same way he haunts me. 

Charters successfully captures what Kerouac wanted to be known for in this world. A great writer. Was he? That is between the reader and Jack. Some readers may find it silly to pair a wine with a Kerouac. I would have to agree. Kerouac drank a lot and did not really care what it was. If I were to truly pair a wine for Kerouac, I think it would have to be one of the greats. Since Kerouac had this aspiration to be a great writer, shouldn’t he have a great wine? I am not sure he would appreciate its elegance, but it grips what affect that he has inflicted on people. What that infliction is, is a great question. I am still trying to figure that one out. 

The wine to pair with Ann Charters’ biography of Kerouac is a Rhône wine. The Rhône Valley is divided between the north and the south. We are going to journey to the southern part of the valley where the grapes of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre steal the show. Southern Rhône is run by Cote de Rhône Villages and notably known for the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation. There are other appellations that give character to Southern Rhone, and Beaumes de Venise is one of them. The wines in Beaumes are known for their sweeter muscat white wines, but over the years there has been an improvement of quality to Syrah and Grenache. Not making it one of the greats, like a Châteauneuf-du-Pape, but getting there.

Château Redortier has been run by the Menthon family since 1956. The property travels over four appellations, Ventoux, Cote du Rhône, Beaumes de Venise and Gigondas. I have had the pleasure of drinking their Cote du Rhône and Gigondas, but their Beaumes de Venise is a bit off the beaten path, like Kerouac. It is not a well known region, but they are putting themselves on the map – just like Kerouac traveling cross country planting roots like a vagabond on the road. The Redortier Beaumes de Venise is a bright, medium-bodied red that is high in alcohol — something that would cater to Kerouac’s wine desires. The wine’s aromas are blackcurrant, leather and sweet spice, which paint an image of a dark room with a hint of light slicing through the muted curtains. Kerouac is typing away in a realm of spontaneity, reliving the past through the words on a page, while the bottle of Redortier Beaumes de Venise is opened expressing itself as one of the greats.