The Kerouac Book River is inspired by the legendary Merrimack and Concord rivers, which run through the author’s hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts. At the “source” of the river is the canon of first editions, beginning in 1950 with The Townand the City. Plentiful waters stir to rapids with Jack’s kinetic classic novel, On the Road, in 1957, and the current gains momentum with numerous tales drawn from a short life richly lived. Later editions surge and splash through high water on the way to the river’s mouth, which empties into the global ocean of readers.
While this cover art illustrates how graphic artists and designers visualized Kerouac’s writings, it also shows how Kerouac’s North American narratives and poetry, translated into a multitude of languages, have spoken to generations worldwide. The Kerouac Book River draws from the holdings of the Jack Kerouac Collections at the UMass Lowell Libraries’ Center for Lowell History, as well as online resources. The presentation of these images is not for commercial use, as copyrights may reside with the publishers or cover artists. If you have a Kerouac book cover you’d like to share, please use this site’s contact form.
First Editions
The Town and The City (1950)
On the Road (1957)
The Dharma Bums (1958)
The Subterraneans (1958)
Maggie Cassidy (1959)
Mexico City Blues (1959)
Visions of Cody Excerpts (1959)
Doctor Sax (1959)
Lonesome Traveler (1960)
Rimbaud (1960)
Tristessa (1960)
The Scripture of the Golden Eternity (1960)
Pull My Daisy (1961)
Book of Dreams (1961)
Big Sur (1962)
Visions of Gerard (1963)
Desolation Angels (1965)
Satori in Paris (1966)
Vanity of Duluoz (1968)
Pic (1971)
Scattered Poems (1971)
Visions of Cody (1972)
Not Long Ago Joy Abounded at Christmas (1972)
Trip Trap (1973)
Old Angel Midnight (1973)
Heaven and Other Poems (1977)
Pomes All Sizes (1992)
Good Blonde & Others (1993)
Book of Blues (1995)
Selected Letters 1940-1956 (1995)
Some of the Dharma (1997)
Selected Letters 1957-1969 (1999)
Atop an Underwood (1999)
Orpheus Emerged (2000)
Book of Haikus (2003)
Departed Angels (2004)
Windblown World: The Journals of Jack Kerouac 1947-1954 (2004)
Beat Generation (2005)
Book of Sketches (2006)
On the Road The Original Scroll (2007)
San Francisco Blues (2007)
Wake Up: A Life of the Buddha (2008)
And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks (2009)
You’re a Genius All the Time (2009)
Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg: The Letters (2010)
The Sea is My Brother (2011)
Collected Poems (2012)
The Haunted Life and Other Writings (2014)
The Unknown Kerouac (2016)
Beat Painting (2018)
Later and International Editions
Pomes All Sizes (1999; Italy)
On the Road (2012; Italy)
The Dharma Bums (1971)
Satori in Paris (2001; UK)
Pic (1988; France)
The Subterraneans (1958)
Lonesome Traveler (1994; UK)
Pic (1974; UK)
Doctor Sax (1984; UK)
Maggie Cassidy (1993)
Road Novels 1957-1960 (2007)
Vanity of Dulouz (1994)
On the Road The Original Scroll (2009; Israel)
The Sea is My Brother (2011; UK)
Doctor Sax (1995; UK)
On the Road (2009; Romania)
Book of Dreams (2019)
On the Road (2011)
Old Angel Midnight (1976; UK)
On the Road (1997) – 40th Anniversary
On the Road The Original Manuscript (2011; Brazil)
Mexico City Blues (2019; UK)
The Portable Jack Kerouac (2007)
On the Road (2013; Albania)
Book of Dreams (1998; Brazil)
The Sea is my Brother (2019; Canada)
On the Road The Original Scroll (2015; China)
Tristessa (1992)
The Dharma Bums (1959)
On the Road (2014; Italy)
The Sea is My Brother (2012; Italy)
Desolation Angels (1966)
On the Road (2016)
The Town and the City (2000; UK)
The Dharma Bums (2000)
The Blues of Jack Kerouac (2019; Italy)
On the Road (2016; Spain)
On the Road (1958; UK; 1st Edition)
Vanity of Duluoz (2012; UK)
Tristessa (1965; Germany)
The Scripture of the Golden Eternity (1996; Bilingual; Czech-English)
Dr. Sax (1987)
Doctor Sax (1999; France)
Visions of Gerard (2014; Brazil)
The Sea is my Brother (2013; Poland)
Big Sur (1963; UK)
Big Sur (1965)
The Subterraneans (1966)
Book of Dreams (1981)
On the Road (1998; UK)
On the Road (2000; Macedonia)
Maggie Cassidy (1960; UK)
Big Sur (2019; France)
The Town and the City (1981; Italy)
On the Road (2011; UK)
Maggie Cassidy (1980; Germany)
The Dharma Bums (2015; Korea)
Tristessa (2011; Mexico)
Scattered Poems (1995; Czech)
Big Sur (2013)
The Dharma Bums (2012; Poland)
On the Road (2007; France)
On the Road (1989; UK)
Big Sur (1981)
Big Sur (1972; UK)
Desolation Angels (1999)
The Subterraneans (1984; Brazil)
Lonesome Traveler (1973; France)
Book of_Haiku (2006)
On the Road (2015; Brazil)
Vanity of Duluoz (1973; UK)
Vanity of Dulouz (1979; France)
On the Road (2020; Mexico)
Lonesome Traveler (1965; Spanish)
Heaven (1977)
Tristessa (2017)
On the Road (2002; Italy)
The Dharma Bums (2016; Spain)
Vanity of Duluoz (2019; Italy)
Big Sur (2018)
Tristessa (2019; UK)
The Dharma Bums (2009; Sweden)
Scattered Poems (1975; France)
Visions of Gerard (1991)
The Subterraneans (1971)
On the Road (1961; UK)
On the Road (2004; Hungary)
The Scripture of the Golden Eternity (2001)
Big Sur (1999; Portugal)
Lonesome Traveler (1970)
Wake Up: A Life of the Buddha (2009)
On the Road (2010; Japan)
The Haunted Life (2014; UK)
On the Road (1971; France)
Big Sur (2012; UK)
On the Road The Original Scroll (2011; Germany)
Lonesome Traveller (1964; UK)
The Illustrated On the Road (2019)
On the Road (2015; Mexico)
On the Road The Original Scroll (2007; France)
Vanity of Duluoz (2001; UK)
On the Road (2000; Poland)
The Dharma Bums (2012; Slovenia)
Underwood Memories (2006)
On the Road (2007)
Visions of Cody (1980; UK)
The Dharma Bums (2006)
Mexico City Blues (2008; Mexico)
On the Road (2015; Greece)
Big Sur (2017; Germany)
The Town and the City (1974; UK)
Beat Generation (2010; Italy)
On the Road The Original Scroll (2007; UK)
On the Road The Original Scroll (2010; Italy)
Maggie Cassidy (1993)
The Subterraneans (1995; Poland)
The Subterraneans (1981)
Visions of Cody (1993)
Satori in Paris (1966)
Mexico City Blues (1959)
Tristessa (1992)
Maggie Cassidy (1960; UK)
On the Road (2007)
On the Road (1988; Bosnia)
Book of Dreams (1995; Germany)
The Town and the City (1960)
Lonesome Traveler (1979; France)
Lonesome Traveler (2018; UK)
On the Road The Original Scroll (2007; Spain)
On the Road (1958)
Satori in Paris (2010; Brasil)
On the Road (2013; Brazil)
Satori in Paris (2007; Bilingual: French and English)
Satori in Paris (1966)
Tristessa (1989)
Visions of Gerard (1998; Czech)
Book of Dreams (2000; Germany)
The Dharma Bums (1959)
The Subterraneans (1958)
Maggie Cassidy (2013; France)
Orpheus Emerged (2005)
The Dharma Bums (2009; Turkey)
On the Road (1999)
Lonesome Traveler (1969; France)
Maggie Cassidy (1996; Czech)
Satori in Paris (1966; UK)
Big Sur (2019)
On the Road (1976; France)
Big Sur (1992)
On the Road (2002; Sweden)
Doctor Sax (2007; France)
On the Road (1990; UK)
On the Road (2012; Hungary)
The Town and the City (2016; Italy)
On the Road (2003; Romania)
The Subterraneans (1994)
Visions of Cody (1995; UK)
The Dharma Bums (1963; France)
Big Sur (1963)
Book of Dreams (2001; China)
On the Road (1977; Spain)
Lonesome Traveler (1962; UK)
The Dharma Bums (1990)
Orpheus Emerged (2012; Malaysia)
Big Sur (2011)
Satori in Paris (1997; Turkey)
The Dharma Bums (1994; Poland)
Tristessa (2007; Mexico)
On the Road: The Original Scroll (2008)
Big Sur (1963)
The Scripture of the Golden Eternity (1998; Italy)
On the Road (1994; Hungary)
Book of Dreams (1963; Italy)
On the Road (1999)
Desolation Angels (1978)
Lonesome Traveler (1993; Italy)
Doctor Sax (1962; France)
Orpheus Emerged (2018; Italy)
On the Road (2009; Spain)
Doctor Sax (2012; UK)
On the Road (1967; Slovenia)
Lonesome Traveler (2018; UK)
Lonesome Traveller (1968)
The Dharma Bums (2018; UK)
On the Road (1991)
Good Blonde and Others (1998; France)
On the Road (1998; Romania)
Big Sur (1979; France)
On the Road (1957)
Dharma Bums (1988; Italy)
Big Sur (2021; Iran)
On the Road (1999)
Lonesome Traveler (1980; France)
On the Road (2012; Sweden)
Tristessa (1983; Canada)
Book of Dreams (2001)
Dr. Sax (1977)
The Dharma Bums (1971)
Visions of Gerard (2012; France)
The Dharma Bums (1993; Germany)
Book of Dreams (2002; Italy)
Lonesome Traveller (1960; UK)
On the Road, The Subterraneans, The Dharma Bums (2015; Mexico)
The Dharma Bums (1959; Italy)
On the Road (2002)
Old Angel Midnight (1993)
On the Road (1983; Japan)
On the Road The Original Scroll (2009; Korea)
On the Road (2004; Norway)
And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks (2011; Germany)
Doctor Sax (2012; Spain)
Big Sur (1968; Italy)
On the Road (2016; Brazil)
The Dharma Bums (2001; China)
Big Sur (1966; France)
The Dharma Bums (1962; UK)
Alone on a Mountaintop (Germany)
Tristessa (2009; Portugal)
On the Road (2003; France)
Dr. Sax (2012; Russia)
On the Road The Original Scroll (2007; Finland)
The Dharma Bums (1999; France)
On the Road; The Dharma Bums; The Subterraneans (1993)
On the Road (1978; Germany)
Doctor Sax (2006; UK)
On the Road (2012; Russia)
Satori in Paris (2018; Italy)
The Dharma Bums (2009; Romania)
On the Road The Original Scroll (2016; Sweden)
The Dharma Bums (2015; Korea)
The Dharma Bums (2006; Poland)
On the Road (2018)
Lonesome Traveler (1994; Italy)
Desolation Angels (1975; UK)
Visions of Cody (1993)
The Dharma Bums (2002; Czech)
On the Road (2012; France)
The Vanity of Duluoz (2007; Spain)
The Dharma Bums (1974; France)
On the Road (1965)
On the Road (1998; Iceland)
On the Road (2007) – 50th Anniversary
Doctor Sax (1987; Germany)
Satori in Paris; Pic (1988)
On the Road (2011; UK)
Visions of Cody (2001; Spain)
The Town and the City (1983)
The Dharma Bums (1997; Italy)
On the Road The Original Scroll (2009; Czech)
Book of Haikus (2004)
The Dharma Bums (2007; Lithuania)
The Subterraneans (1997; Spain)
The Dharma Bums (1982; Spain)
Lonesome Traveler (2000; Spain)
The Town and the City (1983)
On the Road (2020; China)
And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks (2008; Netherlands)
The Dharma Bums (1963; France)
Satori in Paris (1971; France)
Tristessa (1978)
On the Road (2011; Czech)
Visions of Gerard (1991)
Visions of Cody; Visions of Gerard; Big Sur (2015)
Satori in Paris (France)
Maggie Cassidy (1984; Canada)
On the Road (2004; Slovenia)
Maggie Cassidy (1978)
Wake Up: A Life of the Buddha (2008)
The Scripture of the Golden Eternity (2018; US)
Desolation Angels (1990; UK)
Visions of Cody (2012; UK)
Mexico City Blues (1976; France)
The Town and the City (1970; UK)
The Scripture of the Golden Eternity (1979; France)
Old Angel Midnight (1998; France)
Tristessa (2013; France)
On the Road (2012; Spain)
The Dharma Bums (2010; Germany)
Desolation Angels (2012; UK)
Vanity of Duluoz (1982; Spain)
The Sea is My Brother (2014; Brazil)
The Dharma Bums (2000; UK)
Piers of the Homeless Night (2018)
On the Road (1978; Italy)
On the Road (1974)
Satori in Paris (2012; UK)
San Francisco Blues (1996; Italy)
Satori in Paris (1982; UK)
The Subterraneans (1977)
The Dharma Bums (2004; Brazil)
Selected Letters (1940-1956) (2000; France)
Desolation Angels (2001; UK)
On the Road The Original Scroll (2007; Holland)
The Town and the City (1950)
Maggie Cassidy (1968)
On the Road The Original Scroll (2009; Germany)
On the Road (2010; Slovakia)
Desolation Angels (1966; UK)
On the Road (1959)
Desolation Angels (1968; France)
The Dharma Bums (1997; Turkey)
The Dharma Bums (1976)
On the Road (2012)
On the Road The Original Scroll (2011; Slovakia)
On the Road (2015; Czech)
And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks (2008; UK)