From On the Road to On the Block

Great AP story today on long rumored but long missing famous letter/manuscript from Neal Cassady to Jack Kerouac that probably inspired his "On the Road" and in turn much of what came to be known as Beat writing.  Now it's been found--in an amazing tale, from a slush pile--and up for auction.

It turns out Ginsberg apparently was trying to get it published when he mailed the letter to Golden Goose Press in San Francisco. There it remained, unopened, until the small publishing house folded.

When it did, its owner planned to throw the letter in the trash, along with every other unopened submission he still had in his files.

That was when the operator of a small, independent music label who shared an office with publisher Richard Emerson came to the rescue. He took every manuscript, letter and receipt in the Golden Goose Archives home with him.