Jack Kerouac Center

10/14/2024

We have the chance to preserve history, culture, and community by saving the former St. Jean Baptiste building where Jack spent so much time from becoming condos. Let’s not allow it to be swallowed up by progress that erases our past. Instead, let’s make it a center where future generations can come to be inspired, learn, and create within the 1000 capacity performance space we have planned. The Jack Kerouac Center would serve as a reminder of the power of literature to change the world, starting with one person’s story. By preserving Jack’s memory here, we ensure that young people—born in Lowell or elsewhere—can learn from his journey and find their own voices.

We were there yesterday, and they are already starting to mark out the locations of the condo walls and construction will soon begin if we don’t intervene and buy this space. Please reach out with ideas and support. We have even formed a nonprofit so any contributions are tax deductible. Time is of essence.

For Jack. For all of us.
More info at jackkerouaccenter.com

09/27/2024

Please join us on Sunday October 13th at 11AM for this very special event.

Jack Kerouac Mural Dedication at St. Jean Baptiste Church, Proposed Future Home of Jack Kerouac Center
During Lowell Celebrates Kerouac Weekend
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13 11AM-1PM

A stunning new mural commemorating legendary Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac will be officially unveiled at St. Jean Baptiste Church on Sunday, October 13th, from 11AM to 1PM as part of Lowell Celebrates Kerouac !. The former church, where Kerouac once served as an altar boy, is the proposed future home of the Jack Kerouac Center, a cultural hub dedicated to celebrating the life and work of the acclaimed author.

The mural became reality with major support from State Senator Ed Kennedyand created by renowned artist Kori Thomas, professionally recognized as the artist Quest Nine. It is a vivid tribute to Kerouac’s life and work, capturing his restless spirit, creative brilliance, and his connection to the church. St. Jean Baptiste Church, which holds a special place in Kerouac’s early life, is the ideal backdrop for this celebration.

“I am truly honored to have been contacted by the Kerouac Estate to create the Jack’s Legacy Mural in Lowell, MA" says Kori Thomas/Quest Nine, "Jack Kerouac has been a constant companion in my lonesome ‘van life’ travels, guiding me through connections with fellow wanderers and in turn inspiring my passion for art. As I delved into his writings, I developed a profound appreciation for Jack—his words, madness, and unique perspective have taught me to embrace and love every aspect of myself. This mural represents not just a tribute to him, but a celebration of his message, ensuring that his legacy endures. With hopes of establishing the Jack Kerouac Center at this site, we aim to create a haven for fellow beat travelers, aspiring writers, and enthusiasts of his unseen works. I am immensely grateful to the Kerouac Estate for this opportunity to share and celebrate Jack’s impact.”

Event Details:
What: Jack Kerouac Mural Unveiling/Dedication
When: Sunday, October 13th, 11AM – 1PM
Where: St. Jean Baptiste Church, 741 Merrimack St. Lowell, MA 01854
Cost: Free and open to the public

Event Highlights:
Mural Unveiling: The mural by Kori Thomas, professionally recognized as the artist Quest Nine, will be officially revealed and dedicated, offering attendees a chance to see this unique interpretation of Kerouac’s legacy.

Live Music: The Rocking Horse Music Club will perform a few songs live inside the former St Jean Baptiste Church , bringing music inspired by Kerouac’s love for jazz and the road, enhancing the celebratory atmosphere.

Jack Kerouac Center Update: Jim Sampas, a key figure in preserving Kerouac’s legacy and nephew of the author, will provide latest information on the development of the Jack Kerouac Center, which aims to become a future cultural hub in Lowell dedicated to the author’s life and works.

Quotes from Key Voices:

Jim Sampas adds: "Kori (Quest Nine) is one of the most innovative and skillful muralists of our time and we are incredibly fortunate that her gifts graced these bricks and mortar in becoming an extraordinarily beautiful achievement that will stand as testament to all those who dare embrace their dreams and set to make them reality through dedication and devotion to their craft. That this magnificent tribute to Jack Kerouac is just a stone’s throw away from the gathering place of his family and friends after the typing ceased, seems to me to be an inspiring way to keep the words from fading and his legacy everlasting.”

The mural and the future Jack Kerouac Center hold great significance for the community. Dave Ouellette, a board member for the Jack Kerouac Center and a longtime Lowell resident and community advocate, shared his thoughts: "This mural and the proposed Jack Kerouac Center represent a deep connection with our city’s artistic and literary heritage. Kerouac’s spirit continues to inspire us here in Lowell, and it’s wonderful to see this tribute come to life in the place where it all began for him."

In addition, Mike Flynn, President of Lowell Celebrates Kerouac, emphasized the importance of this unveiling during the festival: "I am certain that attendees of the 2024 LCK! Fall Festival, who travel to Lowell from all over the US, Canada and Europe every October, will be elated for the opportunity to attend the official reveal of this brilliant work by Quest Nine, adorning the future site of the Jack Kerouac Center, and for the opportunity to actually enter the hallowed former St. Jean Baptiste cathedral where Jack once served as an altar boy and, of course, ultimately had his funeral mass in October 1969. Our motto at LCK! is "Everybody goes home in October", a quote from Jack. This is an event which will take that concept to the next level, I'm sure".

RSVP via our Facebook Event!

03/12/2024

Thanks for inspiring us, Jack. ♥️

Happy Birthday, Jack. Your writing changed so many lives. Forever on the road.
📷: Mario Jorrin - Westport Public Library in 1960

“It was in Centraville I was born, in Pawtucketville saw Doctor Sax. Across the wide basin to the hill – on Lupine Road, March 1922, at five o’clock in the afternoon of a red-all-over suppertime, as drowsily beers were tapped in Moody and Lakeview saloons and the river rushed with her cargoes of ice over reddened slick rocks, and on the shore the reeds swayed among mattresses and cast-off boots of Time, and lzily pieces of snow dropped plunk from bagging branches of black thorny oil pine in their thaw, and beneath the wet snows of the hillside receiving the sun’s lost rays the melts of winter mixed with roars of Merrimac – I was born. Bloody rooftop. Strange deed. All eyes I came hearing the river’s red; I remember that afternoon, I perceived it through beads hanging in a door and through lace curtains and glass of a universal sad lost redness of mortal damnation… the snow was melting. The snake was coiled in the hill not my heart.”
― Jack Kerouac, Dr. Sax

12/16/2023

Counting down to the Spring!