Programs Celebrate "On the Road" 50th Anniversary

BISBEE, AZ – To scratch the itch of that summer travel bug and to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the publication of Jack Kerouac’s groundbreaking novel On the Road, the Copper Queen Library will sponsor a series of films, lectures, and book discussions throughout the month of July.

The celebration begins on July 7 at 5:30 p.m. with the first of four travel documentaries, Route 66: The Mother Road, Michael Wallis’ magical book brought to life in this story of our country’s most most famous highway.

Other films in the “Monday Night ‘Did You Know?… Documentary Film Series” will screen on subsequent weeks: the award-winning biography of the “King of the Beat Generation”, On the Road with Jack Kerouac (July 14); Horatio’s Drive: America’s First Road Trip, the story of eccentric Vermont doctor Horatio Nelson Jackson, who drove from San Francisco to New Your City in 1903 to become the first person to drive a car across the continent and mark the beginning of a new era in America (July 21); and Season of the Sand Blossoms: A Desert Wildflower Journey, “a film which captures that magical time when wildflowers bloom in an immense and little-appreciated land.” (July 28).

The celebration continues on July 9 at 6:30 p.m. with “Route 66: Across Arizona,” a presentation by Arizona Humanities Council Scholars Richard and Sherry Mangum.

This legendary cross-country highway is an important part of our nation’s – and Arizona’s – heritage. In the words of the famous song, Get Your Kicks on Route 66, “It winds from Chicago to L.A. / More than 2,000 miles all the way…”

Some 385 of those miles were in Arizona. This presentation takes a nostalgic trip through Arizona by examing the history of “The Mother Road” and discussing its profound impact on those who traveled it, on Arizona, and on American culture.

The Mangums are an award-winning husband and wife team from Flagstaff. They have written and published books about northern Arizona, and their research has uncovered scores of wonderful old photographs, maps, and other graphic materials that will be used to illustrate their presentation.

Finally, on July 16 at 6:30 p.m., Arizona Humanities Council Scholar August Schaefer facilitates a book discussion of Kerouac’s On the Road, which promises to be both interesting and lively. Copies of the novel will be available at the Circulation Desk for those wishing to participate in the discussion.

These free programs, held in the Library Meeting Room, are sponsored by the City of Bisbee and the Friends of the Copper Queen Library and are made possible in part by a grant from the Arizona Humanities Council.

For further information about these or any library program or event, contact the library at 432-4232.