In a sense, I'm mad (and withdrawn from life) while they're sane, human, normal - but in another sense, I speak from the depths of a vision of truth when I say that this continual jockeying for position is the enemy of life in itself. It may be life, 'life is like that,' it may be human and true, but it's also the death-part of life, and our purpose after all is to live and be true. We'll see.

The book was largely autobiographical and describes Kerouac's road-trip adventures across the United States and Mexico with Neal Cassady in the late-40s as well as his relationships with other Beat writers and friends. S. The school offers a BA in Writing and Literature MFAs in Writing & Poetics and Creative Writing and a summer writing program.

Jean-Louis "Jack" Kérouac (pron. : /ˈkɛruːæk/ or /ˈkɛrɵæk/; March 12 1922 – October 21 1969) was an American novelist and poet.