A Listener's Touching Story On His Father—and Jack Kerouac

On this episode of Our American Stories, when Paul Kotz hit a wall while writing his dissertation, he turned to his father for advice. His father was sick by then, but still quick with his words. “You write like Jack Kerouac,” he said.

It was an odd comparison, and Paul didn’t understand it until he looked Kerouac up himself. What he found was a writer who chased rhythm and honesty above all else. In this touching tribute to his father, Paul reflects on how a few simple words became a quiet kind of encouragement that never left him.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Lee Hibib and this is our American Stories,
the show where America is the star and the American People.
And to hear the podcast version of the show, subscribe
on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
And now we hear from one of our regular contributors,
Paul Cotts, who gives a tribute to his father and

(00:32):
a brief history of American author Jack Kerouac Here's Paul,
I was.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
Listening to an interview on the radio discussing the need
for the presence of fathers and dads in kids' lives.
I think back to my own dad, who taught me
many aspects of navigating life's daily concerns, shared his own
annex dotes of wisdom, and challenged me to be better.

(01:04):
If he heard someone else tell him I was a
good man or that I possessed a certain trait, he
would often tell me. As one example, so and So
told me you're a very fine teacher. Well, direct praise
was not as common in my own childhood at home
until I later became a man and my father was

(01:25):
facing his own death due to a prolonged illness at
the time in the late nineties, I asked for some
feedback on an incomplete dissertation dealing with learning styles and aptitude,
He said, you right, Like Jack Kerouac on the Road,
one of Keroac's finest works possessed this kind of spontaneity

(01:47):
that was valued by many. Caak is generally considered to
be the father of the beat movement, although he actively
disliked such labels. Caroac's method was influenced by the prolific
explosion of jazz, especially the bebop genre established by Charlie Parker,
Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and others. Later introduced ideas he

(02:13):
developed from his Buddhist studies that began with Gary Schneider.
He often referred to his style as spontaneous prose, although
prose was spontaneous and purportedly without edits. He primarily wrote
autobiographical novels based upon actual events from his life and

(02:36):
the people with whom he interacted. Interestingly enough, spoke French
with his family and began learning English at school around
age six. He began speaking it confidently in his late teens.
He was a serious child who was devoted to his mother,
who played an important role in his life. She was
a devout Catholic who instilled this deep faith in both

(03:00):
her sons. He later said she was the only woman
he ever loved. After his brother died, his mother sought
solace in her faith while his father abandoned it. Much
could be said about CAAC's upbringing and life exploits, but
I was focused on my own writing and trying to

(03:20):
finish this work where I had been stuck in a
holding pattern at the time. I did not know who
Karoak was. I had to look him up because it
was a comment that came from my dad and I
wanted to know the significance of this pronouncement. As mentioned before,
is recognized for his style of spontaneous prose, and like

(03:43):
all of us, had his fans and detractors, you would
have appealed to the beat generation. My dad said, I
was kind of worried because at the time I was
stuck in my writing and did not think I would
ever finish. Some believed that at times that's writing style
did not produce lifely or energetic prose. The famous Truman

(04:03):
Capodi said of it, that's not writing, it's typing. Yet,
according to Carolyn Cassidy and others, he constantly rewrote and
revised his work. At the time of my father's comments,
I was encouraged because, as I learned more about he
had an attraction to the writing of Joyce. This was

(04:23):
often overlooked by scholars of PROSEAC alludes to his Joyce's
work more than any other author. Alsoak had high esteem
for Joyce, and he often used his stream of consciousness technique.
I appreciated experimenting with this language too, but in this

(04:43):
case my discussions with my dad, I was trying to
finish this dissertation where a stream of consciousness wasn't highly valued,
but the ability to make statements supported by varied literature,
and where a clear methodology in your work is quintessential.
It had a style all of its own. I was
grateful for this time and advice with my dad. Connected

(05:05):
with this idea was this elimination of the period, substituting
instead a long connecting dash. As such, the phrases occurring
between dashes might resemble improvisational jazz licks, and when spoken
the words take on a certain musical rhythm and tempo.

Speaker 1 (05:21):
Well.

Speaker 2 (05:22):
In writing this piece, I returned back to reflection of
the influence my dad's comments had on me. My dad
wasn't very generous in praise, but he was there in
the background and could be a presence when I needed
that extra push and the moment was right. Was my
writing like improvisational jazz licks? Did they have a musical

(05:45):
rhythm and temple like many thought of Kerouac. Dad may
not have been the one to go to all your
games or events see when you did something well, or
frequently comment on it, but when he did, it made
an impact. I'm indebted for this. He passed away in
April of two thousand and I still miss him. The

(06:06):
words my dad had for me had an influence At
the time. I had to delve into Kerouac to bring
to life my dad's comments which seemed incomplete and asking
for untapping what he fully meant, I may never know
the true extent.

Speaker 1 (06:27):
And a great job on the production as always by
Robbie Davis, and a special thanks to Paul Kott's And
by the way, we love doing listeners' stories. Send them
to Ouramerican Stories dot com and you may just hear
your story on our airwaves and on our podcasts. And
my goodness it shows once again and we talk about
it time and again, the importance of fathers and sons

(06:51):
and daughters' lives, and just this little discussion about a
dissertation and spontaneity. And by the way, not many people
think of turn papers and just distations as spaces for spontaneity.
But the dad's suggestion, the dad's prodding moving his son
forward and along his own path. Paul Cott's story and

(07:11):
tribute to his father and to one of his favorite
American authors here on Our American Stories. Lee Hubib here
and I'd like to encourage you to subscribe to Our
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(07:36):
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