Perspective cavalière

Lew Welch (portrayed by David Wain’s character in Big Sur) and Albert Saijo published Trip Trap, a book of haikus, with Kerouac, written during the trip that took them from San Francisco to New York between September and December 1959. The final corrections were made on the spot, and this photograph captures that atmosphere: cigarettes, drinks, a face slightly puffy and tired.

Fred McDarrah recalled: “We went to the same bars, we went to the same places, and there were poetry readings almost everywhere. The main meeting place was the Living Theatre, which staged dance performances and plays. All this was happening in New York, while another branch of the movement was developing in San Francisco. Two poles that had forged ties. All the important figures of the Beat Generation came to New York, either to visit friends or to publish there.”