Libraries Compile Beat Literature Collections into One Research Space
Image by Ed Brennen
10/18/2016
By Ed Brennen
As a native of Lowell, sophomore psychology major Stephanie Carnazzo is relatively well-versed in the life and times of her hometown鈥檚 most famous literary son, Jack Kerouac.
鈥淲e heard about Kerouac a lot in high school,鈥� says Carnazzo, who, like Kerouac, attended Lowell High. 鈥淲e read a lot of his poems 鈥� not everything, because he wrote a lot.鈥�
Kerouac wrote more than 30 books of prose and poetry, in fact 鈥� a canon that helped define the 鈥淏eat Generation.鈥� For those wanting to learn more about Kerouac and his contemporaries, the have brought their Beat literature collections together into one research space at the new Kerouac Room at the .
鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping this generates a lot of interest by having all of the materials from Jack and his cohorts in the Beat Generation together,鈥� says Libraries Program and Project Coordinator Mehmed Ali, who credits University Archivist Tony Sampas for compiling the collection.
Image by Ed Brennen
The Kerouac Room鈥檚 shelves are stocked with the university鈥檚 existing works, which include donations from Kerouac鈥檚 first wife, Frankie Edith Parker, and a collection of oral histories from Kerouac biographer Gerald Nicosia. There also are more recent donations from the 鈥淟owell Celebrates Kerouac!鈥� organization and author Paul Marion, retired executive director of community relations at the university.
Tia Struble, a freshman honors student in business administration from Franklin, was interested in checking out the Kerouac Room, since she will be reading one of his books for her first-year honors seminar 鈥淭ext in the City.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 interesting to learn about the city鈥檚 roots, especially now that I鈥檓 living here,鈥� says Struble, who was at the center researching Lowell鈥檚 mill girls when she stumbled upon the Kerouac Room鈥檚 dedication ceremony, which helped kick off the weeklong Lowell Celebrates Kerouac! Festival.
The event also featured a sneak preview of the center鈥檚 , which is being improved with the addition of new digital content.
Image by Ed Brennen
Megan O鈥橞rien, a sophomore clinical laboratory sciences major from Hudson, N.H., and Carnazzo have been working with volunteer archivist Brad MacGowan to scan and upload nearly 14,000 primary documents that help tell the story of Lowell from its founding in 1826 up until the Civil War.
鈥淲e鈥檙e making the information more accessible and easier to navigate,鈥� O鈥橞rien says.
The Kerouac Room isn鈥檛 the university鈥檚 only shrine to the 鈥淥n the Road鈥� author. Last fall it opened an exhibit called 鈥淜erouac Retrieved鈥� at the Allen House featuring personal items from his last residence in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The Center for Lowell History, which is part of the university鈥檚 library system, features special collections and archives that focus on historic and contemporary issues of the city, including industrialization and immigration. It is located inside the Patrick J. Mogan Cultural Center at 40 French St.
