Lowell Celebrates Kerouac – Hassan Melehy

Moses Greeley Parker Lecture Series
For most of its 200-year history, Lowell has been the home of immigrants. While growing up in the city’s Franco-American community, Jack Kerouac knew people from many groups: Irish, Italian, Greek, Eastern European, Asian, among others. Immigrants and their families figure prominently in his novels that take place in Lowell. When he wrote about traveling in America and across international borders, he showcased a great variety of people and their cultures, especially the migrants. The speaker will show how Kerouac painted the entire world as a place where migrants are true citizens.