Brand drops a Beat

Pixie-haired comedian Russell Brand is due in Boston, USA tomorrow (5th September) to read a chapter from Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road”.

Brand joins a long list of writers, artists, poets, actors and more in a marathon reading of the beat-writers book to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its publication.

Earlier this year Brand announced that he is going to take to the roads of America to retrace the “On the Road” journey, as homage to the beatnik writer Kerouac.

“We’re going to meet some of the surviving beat poets; we’ll go to places of significance, take long car journeys and, you know, just hang out,” says Brand. “I’m a fan of Kerouac – not in a thorough and academic way, more inspired by the idea of Kerouac and the style and what he represents. So my Radio 2 colleague, Matt Morgan, and I are going to re-create Cassady and Kerouac’s adventures.”

Brand, listed as “English radio and TV personality” for the reading, is handling chapter 2 of the book, near the start of the 12-hour Kerouac-athon.  He will be staying in the US, and his BBC Radio 2 Show will be broadcast from New York this Saturday evening.