A favourite author of mine, Jack Kerouac was born on this day in 1922. “On the Road” The Original Scroll, ISBN 978-0-141-18921-5 is never far away for me to dip in and out of when the mood takes me.

Kerouac is renowned for his writing most of which is clearly autobiographical and his writing style is unique amongst many. He called it “spontaneous prose”  and he covered varied topics such as  Catholic spirituality, jazz, promiscuity, Buddhism, drugs, poverty, and travel with enthusiasm straight from his heart.

Kerouac suffered with severe bouts of depression and was a long-term alcoholic. Sadly he died too soon in 1969 at the age of 47 but happily he left a legacy of fascinating, diverse and must-readable works of art. Here’s my absolute favourite contribution from Jack Kerouac…..fabulous.

The Crazy Ones

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square hole. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”