On December 23, 1950, Neal Cassady cemented his place in history when he sent the Joan Anderson letter to Beat writer Jack Kerouac. The rambling 19-page epistle detailed Cassady’s sexual exploits with his love Joan Anderson and several other women. Upon receiving the letter, Kerouac not only raved about how amazingly well-written it was, but he also swore to “renounce all fiction” and to devote his second book (On the Road) entirely to telling the truth.
These opening pages of the letter reveal how deeply Cassady’s writing influenced Kerouac’s style. Their styles overlap in both writers’ detailed descriptions of the people they met and the places they went. Ultimately, these pages not only demonstrate the deep impact that the letter made on Kerouac’s writing style, but they also show how the close bond between two friends told an unforgettable story about the Beat Generation and the adventure of a lifetime.
