Correspondence #21: Charles Shuttleworth
The editor of a recent title covering Kerouac's 1956 experiences on Desolation Peak responds to an examination by poet Jim Cohn of his claims that the author might have been suffering from bipolarity
Suggestions in Jack Kerouac: Desolation Peak Collected Writings, issued last year under the editorship of Charles Shuttleworth, that the Beat writer might have been exhibiting bipolar signs at this time have prompted a debate in these pages and more widely.
Today Rock and the Beat Generation publishes a piece of detailed commentary by poet Jim Cohn – see ‘Correspondence #20’ – plus below Shuttleworth’s response to those thoughts…
Email, February 14th, 2023
Hi Simon,
My job was to offer an introduction to the material, not to research and write a lengthy, authoritative diagnosis. I think I made it clear that my intro was a subjective interpretation from a lay person immersed in deep study of Kerouac who appreciates his artistry and feels tremendous compassion for his psychological struggles.
Ultimately my intro opens the door for readers to reach their own conclusions, and I stand by mine. The example of Jack's drunken handwriting before he ascended the mountain was meant to contrast with his mental condition on Desolation Peak, when his handwriting was consistently precise, the point being that he wasn't drunk at the time when he was experiencing such severe mood swings.
I'm sure it's true that from a contemporary diagnostic standpoint two months of sobriety doesn't rid alcoholics of all of alcohol's psychological effects (Cohn might also complain about the happy ending in the highly lauded 2022 film To Leslie), but there it seems to me Cohn is being hypocritical, suggesting that Jack was suffering from the pathology of alcoholism while berating me for suggesting a different one.
Most importantly, Cohn cries foul over my interpretations without making any attempt to discuss what he thinks the totality of the journal and other writings show. After reading the whole book, did he reach a different conclusion? Or is his point that I had no right to offer my own?
Charles
See also: ‘Correspondence #20: Jim Cohn’, February 17th, 2023; ‘Correspondence #18: Charles Shuttleworth’, January 11th, 2023’; ‘Correspondence #17: Steven Taylor’, January 9th, 2023’; and ‘Book review #13: Desolation Peak’, January 8th, 2023