a composition by waltz n capsize

• don't write anything bad about Jack Keouac. he is a hero.
• writing bad things about the hero makes one seem jealous and petty.
• writing good things about the hero makes one seem smart and well read, especially if you can employ words like imagery and icon a few times.
• writing bad things about the hero hater makes one appear to have academic integrity and a proclivity toward critical thought. even if one doesn't precisely exhibit either of those two qualities, the suggestion is there.
• kerouac retains the rank of the beloved, sacrosanct Big-Story, amongst the likes of Ayn Rand, Sylvia Plath, Allen Ginsberg.
• being read in 50 years is a sure sign of greatness.
• being obsolete in 50 years is a certain sign of utter failure. who wants to know you then, hey bud?
• it's good to grow out of the bad habits of young adulthood like using JK as a pick-up line (or like buying JK as a pick-up line. that was a bad habit, too.)
• but it's good to retain the literary heroes of our youth. no insinuation should be made when my college literary heroes remain my favorite reading still today, 25 years hence.
• contemporary culture is not hyper driven on retrospection. we just like to remember, is all.
• if jack kerouc influenced an entire generation, maybe he'd like to come back and try again. the one he already had sway with is not very smart. or wait-- maybe that was his influence. in that case, good job, jack.

the end.

waltz