Ned Buskirk says, “I thought you could help spread the word for this guy and help corral some support for the good work he’s doing in the Beat world.”

Here I go – begging for money. Please help in any way you can.

Folks – three years ago The Beat Museum opened its doors at the beginning of probably the worst economic time in most of our lives. We’ve been able to hang on by our fingernails – barely.  And I’ll admit to you it has not been easy.  In fact, truth be told, there have been a few occasions when money was so tight I came very close to simply shutting the doors and walking away.

And frankly, the reason I haven’t done it is because every other day it seems I have someone say to me – “Thank you for doing this.  Thank you for keeping this spirit alive.” And I’ll admit that kind of feedback buoys me. But it doesn’t pay any of  the many overdue bills and it doesn’t keep our creditors from calling demanding payment.

So, I’m turning to you – the core group of people who have helped make The Beat Museum possible from the very beginning. I’m asking for your immediate financial assistance to help us get through the next few months until the tourists start to return to San Francisco in the Spring.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

1). DO YOUR CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY SHOPPING AT KEROUAC.COM
Even if you’re scaling back for Christmas, you’re still probably going to be buying some gifts for friends and family – do it at Kerouac.com. I know you may be tempted to buy from Amazon or some other discounter to save some money, but I’d ask you to remember that Amazon does not have a Beat Museum for you to come visit the next time you’re in San Francisco.

And if you’re a student, ask your parents to check out our new Stocking Stuffers on the front page of Kerouac.com. Parents LOVE to buy books and educational stuff for their kids – it makes them feel they’re raising you right!

2). MAKE A TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO OUR NON-PROFIT PUBLIC CHARITY
You may or may not be aware that we have our own non-profit organization that supports The Beat Museum called The Foundation for Creative Expression (FFCE.org). The sole mission of this non-profit is to support various projects and programs of The Beat Museum. Every time we have an event, the non-profit sponsors it financially and every time we build a new exhibit the FFCE accepts donations and transfers it to The Beat Museum.

If you’re one of the fortunate ones who could use a tax deduction this year, why not make the choice to give a tax-deductible donation to The Foundation for Creative Expression. And if you work for a major corporation they’ll often match that donation to a 501(C)3 public charity (which is what FFCE is). Our IRS tax ID is 74-3198671. You can write a check, use a credit card or even Paypal. You can even do it by phone by calling 1-800-KER-OUAC.

THREE WAYS TO DONATE TO THE FFCE.org

A).  WRITE A CHECK to the FFCE and mail to:

The Foundation for Creative Expression
540 Broadway
San Francisco, CA  94133

B).   CALL WITH A CREDIT CARD to The Beat Museum at 415-399-9626 or 1-800-KER-OUAC to make a credit card donation.  Please call between the hours of 10 AM and 7 PM Pacific Time and have you’re credit card handy.

C).  DONATE VIA PAYPAL You can make a donation to FFCE or learn more at  http://ffce.org/donate.html.

3). PASS THE WORD

Even if YOU can’t do any of the above, please spread the word by asking your family and friends to either make a donation to the FFCE or make a purchase from Kerouac.com. It’s crunch time, folks, and the bottom line is The Beat Museum can only continue to spread the Spirit of The Beats if we’re in a financial position to do so. We’re all making some tough choices these days, but we ARE still making choices. Please do what you can.

Thanks!

Jerry Cimino
The Beat Museum
540 Broadway (at Columbus)
San Francisco, CA 94133
1-800-KER-OUAC
www.kerouac.com

Strange Cargo offers several Beat and Beat-inspired logos on about seven colors of shirt. Included are Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Kurt Vonnegut, Hunter S. Thompson and Charles Bukowski. The designs chosen are iconic representations of each figure, but am I the only one who thinks the Burroughs needs to be scaled up a bit?

As an added bonus, the entrepreneurs at Strange Cargo have been nice enough to create a unique coupon code for readers of this blog. From now until February 21, 2010 you can save 20% when you enter the code “beatgen0809″ at checkout.

Thanks for reading.

The musician Chris Hickey has a forthcoming album named “RAZZMATAZZ” that features this song, “Kerouac”.

Chris Hickey wrote and recorded a song, each day, for about three weeks. The result is “Razzmatazz” – 16 songs, just vocal & guitar, recorded in my bedroom on a hand-held voice recorder.

Chris Hickey – Kerouac (click for the download, here’s another link, here’s his site)

(Thanks, Chris!)

Submitted by Jared Muscat:

i have a ginsberg sketch I recently completed that might suit this blog well. … [i] am a young writer looking to find his way and whos[e] biggest source of inspiration are the beats.

Ginsberg sketch (right, click for extremely high-res) and poem entitled “A premature ode: to you, my Remington quiet-write” below.

(Thanks, Jared!)

Caryl Strzelecki, fearless leader of Bukowski Gallery, says,

Henry Charles Bukowski (August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994), was a German American poet, novelist and short story writer. Bukowski’s writing was heavily influenced by the geography and atmosphere of his home city of Los Angeles, and is marked by an emphasis on the ordinary lives of marginalized poor Americans, the act of writing, alcohol, relationships with women, the drudgery of work, and horseracing. A prolific author, Bukowski wrote thousands of poems, hundreds of short stories, and six novels, eventually having over 60 books in print. He is often remembered as “The Poet Laureate of Skid Row”.

Clearly, Strzelecki is obsessed. He takes Bukowski’s original poetry and adds his own illustrations, coming up with something able to evoke the right feelings without having to read all the words. My favorite is To The Whore Who Took My Poem, pictured above.

[Bukowski Gallery]

Lisa Brawn, the great woodcut artist, just recently added these pieces of William S. Burroughs and a young Allen Ginsberg to her Flickr stream, found here.

A video of a pretty girl reading poetry in the woods will get you on a blog.

Howl [Vimeo]

The Dharma Bums made the list of “100 Must-Read Books: The Essential Man’s Library” over at The Art of Manliness, which calls itself “a blog dedicated to uncovering the lost art of being a man.” Whatever that means. I just like the cover they chose.

An idealistic vision from the man who fueled the Beat Generation, a life on the road without concern for wealth or even stability, rather an enjoyment of surroundings, whatever they may be. This is a great book for reminding us to get away from technology, at least for a day, to appreciate nature and some of the more simple pleasures of life. Don’t feel inferior to the beatniks if you still like driving your car…don’t ever let hipsters give you guilt trips.

[The Art of Manliness]

Over at Meetup, people all around the world have made it known that they are interested in the Beats. And thanks to Google, public APIs and, I’m sure, tons of other factors, we have this graphical representation, or map, that shows us where they all are.

This print, simply entitled “Jack Kerouac”, is available in lakeillustration’s Etsy store for $16, plus shipping.

This is a, limited edition, illustration titled – ‘JACK KEROUAC’. It is printed on the finest archival matte canvas paper.

This is a 220gsm Heavyweight canvas textured effect paper. The surface has a canvas texture and the colours of the print, are extremely strong and vibrant.

The print is part of a limited edition of 50 and is an original illustration numbered, signed and titled by hand by the artist.

SIZE OF PRINT : 8.7 inches x 11.5 inches
(22cm x 28.5cm)

Jack Kerouac – Red on Blue [Etsy]