On the Road: The Original Scroll

　　《旅途上》五十週年紀念版，首度將紙卷原稿樣貌編排成書的形式，重現當初被視為不當的文字，有更多激情描寫。《旅途上》紙卷原稿及其他史料十一月會在紐約公立圖書館展出。在別具意義的五十週年，好萊塢也開始動作，由這本原著改編的電影，預計明年由《革命前夕的摩托車日記》巴西導演 Walter Salles執導。

　　這份初稿也相當具有傳奇性，凱魯亞克用膠帶將打字紙黏成一百二十呎的紙卷，然後才可以如他所願不被換紙卷打斷寫作，而將全文寫出，這份手稿是美國文學史重要史料。

　　The legendary 1951 scroll draft of On the Road, published word for word as Kerouac originally composed it

　　Though Jack Kerouac began thinking about the novel that was to become On the Road as early as 1947, it was not until three weeks in April 1951, in an apartment on West Twentieth Street in Manhattan, that he wrote the first full draft that was satisfactory to him. Typed out as one long, single-spaced paragraph on eight long sheets of tracing paper that he later taped together to form a 120 foot scroll, this document is among the most significant, celebrated, and provocative artifacts in contemporary American literary history. It represents the first full expression of Kerouac's revolutionary aesthetic, the identifiable point at which his thematic vision and narrative voice came together in a sustained burst of creative energy. It was also part of a wider vital experimentation in the American literary, musical, and visual arts in the post-World War II period.

　　It was not until more than six years later, and several new drafts, that Viking published, in 1957, the novel known to us today. On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of On the Road, Viking will publish the 1951 scroll in a standard book format. The differences between the two versions are principally ones of significant detail and altered emphasis. The scroll is slightly longer and has a heightened linguistic virtuosity and a more sexually frenetic tone. It also uses the real names of Kerouac's friends instead of the fictional names he later invented for them. The transcription of the scroll was done by Howard Cunnell who, along with Joshua Kupetz, George Mouratidis,and Penny Vlagopoulos, provides a critical introduction that explains the fascinating compositional and publication history of On the Road and anchors the text in its historical, political, and social context.