Kerouac in Rocky Mount, N.C.
There's still one detail regarding Jack Kerouac's time in Rocky Mount to settle ... and that's the fate of the house on West Mount Drive where he lived in the mid-1950s with his sister, Nin. It's referred to as "Big Easonburg Woods" in his work, as that was how the crossroads was known then.
Thanks to John J Dorfner, who lives in Raleigh, N.C., we know the whereabouts of the house. I've been speaking with him and we're trying to now figure out what the future holds for this house.
He and I, and perhaps other Kerouac fans out there, would like to see this little farmhouse preserved and protected. There's a risk, however, that it will change hands before that can be done.
In the development frenzy that sweeps like Sherman through eastern North Carolina, who knows how long a Depression-era farmhouse could hold out?
Meanwhile, in the next few days I'll make some updates to the pages on this site about Jack Kerouac.
