Jack Kerouac's personally-owned icon of St. Paul, oil on copper plaque measuring 5.5 x 6.75, which depicts Paul the Apostle with halo and his martyr sword. The plaque is pierced near the top edge for hanging. In fine condition, with light overall wear. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by John Shen-Sampas, the executor of the Kerouac Estate by descent. John Shen-Sampas is the son of John Sampas, who was the brother-in-law of Jack Kerouac, and the brother of Stella Kerouac, Jack's wife.
Kerouac was not only a lifelong faithful Roman Catholic, but this faith (along with Buddhism) was also important to his writing—a fact surprising to some, given apparent contradictions with his literary influence. As related by Robert Dean Lurie (The American Conservative, September 7, 2012): 'It is impossible to overstate the influence of Catholicism on all of Kerouac's work, save perhaps those books written during his Buddhist period in the mid-to-late 1950s. The influence is so obvious and so pervasive, in fact, that Kerouac became justifiably incensed when Ted Berrigan of the Paris Review asked during a 1968 interview, 'How come you never write about Jesus?' Kerouac's reply: 'I've never written about Jesus?...You’re an insane phony...All I write about is Jesus.''
His faith was instilled in him primarily by his French-Canadian mother, Gabrielle-Ange Lévesque Kerouac (1895-1973). Photographs from the interior of Kerouac's last home at 5169 10th Avenue North, St. Petersburg, Florida, show numerous religious icons scattered around the rooms and displayed on pieces of furniture. Demonstrating Kerouac’s faith is a quote from religious historian Jon M. Sweeney’s 2008 book Almost Catholic: An Appreciation of the History, Practice & Mystery of Ancient Faith: 'From childhood until death, Kerouac wrote letters to God, prayers to Jesus, poems to Saint Paul, and psalms to his own salvation' (p. 158).
