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Marathon Timetable | Reader Program | FAQ

We had so much fun last year we’re doing it again! Over 100 volunteer readers will take turns reading Jack Kerouac’s most iconic novel.

Join in the fun as Lowell celebrates the 97th birthday of one of our brightest literary stars.

1st Ride: Pollard Memorial Library   12:00 – 4:00pm – All reader slots filled
2nd Ride: MCC Donahue Academic Arts Center  –  4:00 – END (approx. 11:15PM)

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Kerouac Birthday Week Schedule of Events

TUESDAY, March 5th

Big Sur
7:35pm – Tuesday, March 5th
Free Film Screening at Luna Theater, Mill 5, 240 Jackson St. 4th Floor

Film adaptation of Kerouac’s novel Big Sur with Josh Lucas, Anthony Edwards, Balthazar Getty, and Jean-Marc Barr as Kerouac. (2013 | 81 min. | Rated R).  Free screening, presented by The MRT, Luna Theater,  and the Estate of Jack Kerouac seating is first come first served.  RSVP Here.

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THURSDAY, March 7th

One Fast Move or I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur

6:05 PM – Thursday, March 7th
Free Film Screening at Luna Theater, Mill 5, 240 Jackson St. 4th Floor

Documentary about the Big Sur period, 98 minutes. Carolyn Cassady, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Sam Shepherd, Patti Smith, and S.E. Hinton are among the interviewees. (2008 | 84 min. | NR)
Free screening, presented by The MRT, Luna Theater,  and the Estate of Jack Kerouac seating is first come first served.  RSVP Here.

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FRIDAY, March 8th

Kerouac: King of the Beats / Haunted Life Panel Discussion
Friday, March 8th – 7pm
Middlesex CC Academic Arts Center, 240 Central Street

Join us for a screening of the newly restored in high definition version of John Antonelli film Kerouac: King of the Beats (1985 | 78 min. | Trailer). The screening will be followed by a panel discussion about Kerouac as a young writer and the Merrimack Repertory Theater’s adaptation of the novel fragment The Haunted Life set to make it’s premier later in March. Panelists Sean Daniels, Artistic Director of Merrimack Repertory Theater, Todd Tietchen, Associate Professor at UMass Lowell and editor of The Haunted Life, Jim Sampas, Literary Executor of Jack Kerouac Estate, Moderator Sean Thibodeau, Coordinator of Community Planning at Pollard Library.

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SATURDAY, March 9th

MAIN EVENT – On the Road Reading Marathon

12pm-4pm (Pollard Library) & 4PM-11PM – MCC Academic Arts Center, 240 Central St.

Lowell Celebrates Kerouac! Jazz Concert
Saturday, March 9th – 7PM
Gallery Z, 167 Market St. 

The Wendee Glick Jazz Trio will be performing. Right around the corner from the marathon reading. Perfect place to stop on your way to or from the marathon.

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SUNDAY, March 10th

Lowell Talks presents: Kerouac: His Life and Legacy in Lowell
Sunday, March 10, 2PM
Boott Cotton Mills Museum, 115 John St.

Join us for Lowell National Historical Park’s March’s Lowell Talks program featuring poet Matt W. Miller. Together, we’ll discuss the life and legacy of Jack Kerouac, the successful beat writer who was born and raised in Lowell, MA. Free and open to all!

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