I am young now and can look upon my body and soul with pride. But it will be mangled soon, and later it will begin to disintegrate, and then I shall die, and die conclusively. How can we face such a fact, and not live in fear?

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.