Collected Letters, 1944-1967 by Neal Cassady
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Book Reviews of Collected Letters, 1944-1967
Book Review: Cassady fans rejoice!
Summary: 5 Stars
Neal Cassady fans rejoice! This is the book you've been waiting a long, long time for. If Neal has captured your imagination (he's certainly captured mine) surely you've been frustrated about how little information there is about him. Yes, he's Dean Moriarty, Cody Pomeray, Speed Limit, and Cowboy Neal. He even wrote an (labored, as you'll discover) autobiography, "First Third". But, in a way, none of it prepares you for these collected letters because it's within them that we get to see the many sides of the Neal Cassady legend, primarily in his own words.
The two aspects I enjoyed most about this book were his hopes to be a family man and his desire to be an author, favorite aspects I suppose because that's not how I saw him previously. He tried hard to be a good husband and father but his muse wouldn't let him. And in these letters you see the creative, free-wheeling writing ability he was capable of but just couldn't get together in book form. Kerouac credits Neal for inspiring the style he'd develope for "On the Road" and on, and throughout the 50's encourages him to continue his writing.
The bulk of this collection dates before 1957, before the publication of "On the Road" and the whole beat sensation. In that regard it's very special to have the inside look at these letters which at the time of their composition no one would have had the faintest clue would be published. These are letters between friends, aspiring artists and lovers when there was no email and long distance phone calls were a luxury. Neal's writing was sometimes pedestrian but at other times it would soar, making clear why Ginsburg, Kerouac, etc argued he was the greatest writer of the group.
The editor Dave Moore does a wonderful job bringing continuity to the letters with his commentary throughout the book. He connects the dots where needed providing necessary back-story in an unabtrusive manner.
One complaint I do have about the book is that during the 60's the quantity of letters seriously drops off. He wrote less and less or the letters are lost or both, but it does leave a hole in Neal's story. As a result we miss out, in his words, on his life as he transitions from the beat generation to the hippie generation.
I have come to some new conclusions of my own about Neal, as will any reader. There is room for more writing on this most facsinating subject (esp his life in the 60's--why, he even lived with the Grateful Dead at their famed 710 Ashbury residence during the Haight's blossoming) but "Selected Letters" fills a huge void.
Book Review: Lost Beat Literature
Summary: 5 Stars
Neal Cassady is better known as the inspiration for the driver/companion Dean Moriarty in "On the Road", Cody in "Visions of Cody" and the real life driver of the next genration in "Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test". Other than "The First Third" published by City Lights many years ago there is little actually written by this fascinating personality. These letters are give a good idea of the style of speaking, writing and living (good and bad) that touched so many people and crossed between the generations of the beats and the hippies.
Not always inspired, sometimes pedestrian, Cassady's voice is always compelling. This book is essential reading for fan's of the beats and should be on the bookshelf along with the letters of Kerouac, Burroughs and Ginsberg. Fans of Ken Kesey, Ed McClanahan, Larry McMurtry, Gurney Norman, the Grateful Dead, etc. will appreciate this book as well.
It is sad to read how often Cassady talks of writing a new book when you know that he never really get around to doing it but, in a sense, he lived a life which became a part of many books. In that sense, as an inspiration, a many faceted character he is very much a part of literature and this will add deservingly to this recognition.
Book Review: A Modern Muse
Summary: 5 Stars
The first thing that surprised me about these letters was how fine Cassady's vocabulary was; and how well-read he was. The letters really show why he was such a profound influence on Kerouac and Ginsberg. Also, these letters weren't written to be published, so they are unforced and natural. How about that sexual exploit on page 77? My goodness! Can we, in the year 2006, forgive Neil's use of the "N" word in the year 1948...in much the same way as Mark Twain's use of that word? I guess that's up to each reader to decide. Anyway, I find this book to be a superlative example of a modern muse in action.Book Review: Awesome Book
Summary: 5 Stars
I really like the Beats and Neal was at crest of the wave. This book offers a ton of great insight into the man and his thoughts. The reader walks away from this novel feeling as though he'd been introduced to more of the real Cassady than he's ever seen before.Book Review: The Beat Hero In His Own Words (for once)
Summary: 4 Stars
Neal Cassady was, for most of his adult life, a prolific writer, spreading his hep words to the likes of Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Bill Burroughs, and other beat writers who used Neal as the star of many of their works (especially K). Cassady is a born storyteller, as is evidenced by his energetic and exciting letters; however, it becomes evident that he is not a born writer, and as exciting as his letters are, they say quite little. Regardless, it is obvious how Cassady became a new archetype of American modern literature, and fans of the Beats would be remiss not to check out this wee tome. Note that after his imprisonment for distributing "tea" the volume drops off considerably. Was it prison, life or LSD that lessened the latent genius' writing? We'll never know.
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