KEROUAC, JACK, 1922-1969.
John Sampas collection of Jack Kerouac material, circa 1900-2005

Emory University

Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library

Atlanta, GA 30322

404-727-6887

rose.library@emory.edu

Permanent link: http://pid.emory.edu/ark:/25593/q4krs

Descriptive Summary

Creator: Kerouac, Jack, 1922-1969.
Title: John Sampas collection of Jack Kerouac material, circa 1900-2005
Call Number:Manuscript Collection No. 1343
Extent: 2 linear feet (2 boxes) and 1 oversized paper (OP)
Abstract:Material collected by John Sampas relating to Jack Kerouac and including correspondence, photographs, and manuscripts.
Language:Materials entirely in English.

Administrative Information

Restrictions on Access

Special restrictions apply: Use copies have not been made for audiovisual material in this collection. Researchers must contact the Rose Library at least two weeks in advance for access to these items. Collection restrictions, copyright limitations, or technical complications may hinder the Rose Library's ability to provide access to audiovisual material.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

All requests subject to limitations noted in departmental policies on reproduction.

Related Materials in Other Repositories

Jack Kerouac papers, New York Public Library

Related Materials in This Repository

Jack Kerouac collection and Jack and Stella Sampas Kerouac papers

Source

Purchase, 2015

Citation

[after identification of item(s)], John Sampas collection of Jack Kerouac material, Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University.

Processing

Processed by Carrie Hintz, Sarah Quigley, and Laura Starratt, October 1, 2015.

Collection Description

Biographical Note

Jean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac, American Beat poet, essayist, and novelist, was born in 1922 in Lowell, Massachusetts to French Canadian parents, Léo-Alcide Kéroack (1889-1946) and Gabrielle-Ange Lévesque (1895-1973). He had a brother, Gerard F. (1917-1926) and a sister, Caroline (Kerouac) Blake (1919-1964). He earned a football scholarship to Columbia University but left in 1941 after a career ending injury. He lived on Manhattan's Upper West Side with his first wife, Edie Parker who introduced him to Allen Ginsberg, Lucien Carr, and William Burroughs. He joined the United States Merchant Marine in 1942 and the United States Navy in 1943, though he was quickly given an honorable discharge for psychological reasons.

Kerouac is credited with coining the term "Beat Generation" and is considered one of the pioneers of the movement. He earned his reputation after the publication of On the Road in 1957 and was hailed as a major American writer. The success of On the Road brought unwanted attention to the author, and future works never achieved the same acclaim. In March 1958, Kerouac moved to Northport, New York, to care for his mother, Gabrielle, and in 1966 married Stavroula "Stella" Sampatacacus, the sister of his childhood friend, Sebastian Sampas. Much of the Sampatacacus family shortened their last name to Sampas. Kerouac died in St. Petersburg, Florida, on October 21, 1969 from an internal hemorrhage. When Gabrielle died five years later, Stella inherited the rights to Kerouac's literary estate and handled legal and financial matters relating to his work for the rest of her life. Stella Sampas Kerouac died on February 10, 1990.

Scope and Content Note

The collection consists of correspondence, manuscripts, and photographs created by or relating to Jack Kerouac, and collected by his brother in law John Sampas. Correspondence files include original correspondence, as well as occasional writings or drawings by or relating to correspondents such as William Burroughs, Neal Cassady, Ann Charters, Robert Creeley, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, and Philip Whalen, as well as various members of the Kerouac and Sampas families. Correspondence to Ann Charters primarily documents the writing and preparation of her writings about Kerouac. The collection is particularly rich in photographs, including a number from Kerouac's early years, family pictures, and photographs of friends and family members in Kerouac's circle. Also notable is a partial manuscript for San Francisco Blues and an unproduced play entitled The Beat Generation.

Arrangement Note

Arranged by record type.

Selected Search Terms

Personal Names

Topical Terms

Form/Genre Terms

Container List

Correspondence
Box Folder Content
1 1 General and unidentified, 1946-1962
1 2 Burroughs, William S., 1953
1 3 Charters, Ann, circa 1978-2007
1 4 Charters, Ann, circa 1978-2007
1 5 Charters, Ann, circa 1978-2007
1 6 Cassady, Carolyn, 1952-1999
1 7 Cassady, Neal, 1948-1952
1 8 Coolidge, Clark, 1997
1 9 Coppola, Francis Ford
1 10 Condo, George, 1993-2000
1 11 Creeley, Robert, 1960-2005
1 12 Ferlinghetti, Lawrence, 1973-1992
1 13 Gifford, Barry, 1973-1977
2 1 Ginsberg, Allen, 1948-1994
2 2 Kerouac, Gabrielle, 1950-1972
2 3 Kerouac, Janet, 1962-1967
2 4 Kerouac, Stella
2 5 Parker, Edie, 1948
2 6 Sampas, John
2 7 Sampas, Sebastian, undated
2 8 Sampas, Sebastian, military journal
2 9 Snyder, Gary, 1956-1959
2 10 Stanford, David, 1993
2 11 Sterling Lord, 2000
2 12 Welch, Lew, 1959-1960
2 13 Whalen, Philip, 1956-2002
Biographical and personal files
2 14 Cancelled checks, 1958
2 15 Clippings
2 16 Contract--Pull My Daisy, 1961
2 17 Family documents
2 18 Handkerchief
2 19 Legal and financial documents
2 20 Notebook
2 21 Notes and lists
2 22 Passports and birth bertificate
OP1 - Print of a drawing of Kerouac
Subject files
2 23 On the Road, 1953-1958, 1972
2 24 Dharma Bums, 1958
2 25 Other Writings, 1950-1962
Photographs
3 1 Ackerman
3 2 Ansen, Alan
3 3 Beat Group
3 4 Beckwith, Jacques
3 5 Beinart, Eunice
3 6 Clements, Marshall
3 7 Cru, Henri
3 8 Cudworth, James
3 9 Desolation Peak
3 10 Franco, Bea
3 11 Giroux, Robert, 1950
3 12 Kerouac family album
3 13 Kerouac family photographs
3 14 Kerouac's ancestors
3 15 Kerouac's extended family
3 16 Kerouac, Caroline "Nin"
3 17 Kerouac, Gabrielle (Kerouac's mother)
3 18 Kerouac, Gerard
3 19 Kerouac, Jack
OP1 - Kerouac, Jack
3 20 Kerouac, Jack--early
3 21 Kerouac, Jack--early play
3 22 Kerouac, Jack--high school and college
3 23 Kerouac, Jack--young man
3 24 Kerouac, Jack--middle years
3 15 Kerouac, Jack--later life
3 16 Kerouac, Jack--artwork reproductions
4 1 Kerouac's desk, 1969
4 2 Kerouac's grave
4 3 Kerouac's pets
4 4 Kerouac, Jack--sports
4 5 Kerouac, Leo (Kerouac's father)
4 6 Lee, Alene
4 7 Lowell, Massachusetts
4 8 Orlovsky, Peter
4 9 Paquette, John
4 10 Salvas, Roland
4 11 Sampas, John
4 12 Sampas, Stella
4 13 Sampas, Sebastian
4 14 Sampas family
4 15 Sampas family
OP1 - Sampas family panoramic
4 16 Vanity of Duluoz manuscript (photograph)
4 17 Welch, Lew, 1960
4 18 Wyse, Seymour
4 19 Yokley, Sarah
Writings
4 20 Beat Generation script
4 21 Portfolio of poems
4 22 San Francisco Blues manuscript
4 23 Writings, undated
4 24 Doctor Sax--French translation
Audiovisual material
4 25 Compact disc
v1.11.0-dev