My Darling Killer

My Darling Killer

Late on the night of August 14, 1944, after a long night of drinking at the West End bar in Manhattanâ€™s upper west side, a Columbia student named Lucien Carr -- the unusually handsome and engaging young man who introduced Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs -- entered Riverside Park with his former boy scout master, David Kammerer. There, Lucien killed David and dumped his body in the Hudson River.

Though it could not be known at the time, this murder sparked a chain of events that would give birth to the Beat Generation in the years to follow.

Today, Lucien Carr is largely forgotten to history. In historical retrospect, it is obvious that Carrâ€™s murder of Kammerer was an immensely significant moment in the formation of the seminal Beat writers, Kerouac, Ginsberg and Burroughs, all of whom wrote about the murder. In many ways, the murder can be viewed as the moment of creation of the Beats.

But Lucienâ€™s contribution to shaping the Beat extends far beyond his tragic act. Lucien was an intellectually precocious, and exceedingly well-read youth who enjoyed living life out loud, in bright and vivid colors. He had arrived at Columbia with his â€˜New Visionâ€™ philosophy largely developed. He not only introduced the seminal Beats, but often led their discussions. He was the center of this circle of friends who would become greatly influential social, literary and artistic leaders of American culture in the decades to come.

â€˜My Darling Killerâ€™ is much more than a recounting of the murder and the events that led up to it. Through the examples of 19th century French poet Arthur Rimbaud, Fyodr Dostoevskyâ€™s Crime and Punishment, and the classic French film, La Grande Illusion -- all of which had influenced Carr and his â€˜New Visionâ€™, this literary history attempts to identify precisely what impact Carr had on the Beats.

This quick and easy-to-read book is extensively researched and footnoted. 'My Darling Killer' features extensive excerpts from the private letters, journals and writings of Ginsberg, Kerouac, Burroughs and others. The author spent weeks combing through the Beat archives at the New York Public Library Berg Collection, and the Columbia University Library Rare Book and Manuscript Collection, and interviewing scholars including John Tytell and Aaron Latham to create this unique literary history.

About the Author

A.R. Blank is a researcher and writer. He studied modern United States history at Columbia University, where he spent time in the same dorms, classrooms, libraries, and bars, as Carr, Kerouac and Ginsberg. He lives in Umpqua National Forest in Southern Oregon with Cynthia (his wife), Max and Leila (dogs), Peach âˆ (cat) and Thunder (cockatiel).
Country USA
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2013-01-23
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2013-01-23
Format	Kindle eBook

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