The Dharma Bums
Price: $650.00
Hard Cover. New York: The Viking Press, 1958. 1st Edition. Fine / Dust Jacket Included.
First edition, first printing. Publisher's black cloth, lettered in metallic green, blue, and silver to front board and spine; in its original black dust jacket designed by Bill English, with an illustration of two mountain climbers to the front panel and a photographic portrait of the author by Keith Jennison to the rear panel. Very good or better book, with bottom edge of rear board lightly bumped, bright lettering on cloth with just a touch of rubbing to author's name on spine, trace of sticker residue to front free endpaper, and some sporadic staining to bottom portions of pp. 173 - 225; very good unclipped dust jacket, with light soiling to spine, rubbing to panels, light staining to rear panel, a few small closed tears and creases to panel edges, light chipping to spine ends, and a small chip to top right corner of front panel, other corners lightly nicked. Overall, a sturdy copy. Kerouac wrote The Dharma Bums after On the Road during the height of his interest in Buddhism; while On the Road is a quest for adventure, The Dharma Bums represents Kerouac's quest for truth. Like many of Kerouac's other works, the characters in The Dharma Bums are based on the author's actual friends and family; this novel features Ray Smith, the fictional narrator based on Kerouac, and Japhy Ryder, inspired by poet Gary Snyder whom Kerouac cites as a major influence in his understanding of Buddhism. The Dharma Bums addresses the relationship between Kerouac's ideals and lived experiences by contrasting urban party scenes with the narrator's introspective reflections while meditating in the forest. Item #JK056
