Jack Kerouac School
Encyclopedia
The Jack Kerouac
School was founded at Naropa University
in 1974 by Chögyam Trungpa
, and Beat Generation
poets Allen Ginsberg
and Anne Waldman
. The school consists of the Summer Writing Program and the Department of Writing
and Poetics
, which administers the Master of Fine Arts
(MFA) in Writing and Poetics, the MFA in Creative Writing
(low residency program), and the BA in Writing and Literature
.
The Kerouac School has as its mission the education of students as knowledgeable practitioners of the literary arts. Its objectives toward that mission include encouraging a disciplined practice of writing and cultivating a historical and cultural awareness of literary studies. The view that one can continuously open to "big mind" for freshness and inspiration informs the school's approach to creative writing as a contemplative practice. In this spirit, university founder Chögyam Trungpa's notion of "art in everyday life" is fundamental to its pedagogy and aesthetic, combining both Eastern and Western wisdom.
The Naropa Summer Writing Program celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2004.
Sam Kashner wrote the book When I Was Cool
about his experience there.
In 1978, Costanzo Allione made a short documentary film, ‘Fried Shoes, Cooked Diamonds’, about the school.
The school cosponsored the Association of Writers & Writing Programs
2010 annual conference in Denver, Colorado
.
Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
School was founded at Naropa University
Naropa University
Naropa University is a private American liberal arts university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1974 by Tibetan Buddhist teacher and Oxford University scholar Chögyam Trungpa, it is named for the eleventh-century Indian Buddhist sage Naropa, an abbot of Nalanda.Naropa describes itself as...
in 1974 by Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche was a Buddhist meditation master and holder of both the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages, the eleventh Trungpa tülku, a tertön, supreme abbot of the Surmang monasteries, scholar, teacher, poet, artist, and originator of a radical re-presentation of Shambhala vision.Recognized...
, and Beat Generation
Beat generation
The Beat Generation refers to a group of American post-WWII writers who came to prominence in the 1950s, as well as the cultural phenomena that they both documented and inspired...
poets Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
and Anne Waldman
Anne Waldman
Anne Waldman is an American poet.Since the 1960s, Waldman has been an active member of the “Outrider” experimental poetry community as a writer, performer, collaborator, professor, editor, scholar, and cultural/political activist....
. The school consists of the Summer Writing Program and the Department of Writing
Writing
Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols . It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and non-symbolic preservation of language via non-textual media, such as magnetic tape audio.Writing most likely...
and Poetics
Poetics
Aristotle's Poetics is the earliest-surviving work of dramatic theory and the first extant philosophical treatise to focus on literary theory...
, which administers the Master of Fine Arts
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
(MFA) in Writing and Poetics, the MFA in Creative Writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
(low residency program), and the BA in Writing and Literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
.
The Kerouac School has as its mission the education of students as knowledgeable practitioners of the literary arts. Its objectives toward that mission include encouraging a disciplined practice of writing and cultivating a historical and cultural awareness of literary studies. The view that one can continuously open to "big mind" for freshness and inspiration informs the school's approach to creative writing as a contemplative practice. In this spirit, university founder Chögyam Trungpa's notion of "art in everyday life" is fundamental to its pedagogy and aesthetic, combining both Eastern and Western wisdom.
The Naropa Summer Writing Program celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2004.
Sam Kashner wrote the book When I Was Cool
When I Was Cool
When I Was Cool: My Life at the Jack Kerouac School is Sam Kashner's autobiographical account of his experience as the first student at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, which was founded by Allen Ginsberg in honor of his late friend, Jack Kerouac...
about his experience there.
In 1978, Costanzo Allione made a short documentary film, ‘Fried Shoes, Cooked Diamonds’, about the school.
The school cosponsored the Association of Writers & Writing Programs
Association of Writers & Writing Programs
The Association of Writers & Writing Programs is a literary organization whose mission is "to foster literary talent and achievement, to advance the art of writing as essential to a good education, and to serve the makers, teachers, students, and readers of contemporary writing."-Members:AWP...
2010 annual conference in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
.
External links
- Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics on Naropa University site
- Audio archives
- Internet Scout featured link
- Anne Waldman, Marilyn Webb, (Eds) Talking poetics from Naropa Institute: annals of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, Volume 1, Taylor & Francis, 1979, ISBN 9780394735696
- Anne Waldman, Marilyn Webb, (Eds) Talking poetics from Naropa Institute: annals of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, Volume 2, Taylor & Francis, 1979, ISBN 9780394736914