AP Exclusive: Letter that Inspired Kerouac found

“It’s been called the letter that launched a literary genre — 16,000 amphetamine-fueled, stream-of-consciousness words written by Neal Cassady to his friend Jack Kerouac in 1950.

Upon reading them, Kerouac scrapped an early draft of “On The Road” and, during a three-week writing binge, revised his novel into a style similar to Cassady’s, one that would become known as Beat literature.”

Read the full story here: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/e1b82d6b5bb24c7a89f0aa12f46743b8/ap-exclusive-letter-inspired-kerouac-found