Salt Lake City has a fascinating history, having been founded in the 19th century, but with a very long period of human habitation well before that. It’s not exactly the Old West, but it shares enough of the same geographies and relation to space that the stories tend to overlap. The myths certainly do, and Salt Lake City is home base to a number of very interesting characters over the years. Filmmakers, visual artists, actors, and novelists, there are all sorts that make up Salt Lake City, and all these sorts make it a splendid place to visit.
One of the 20th centuries most fascinating creatures, however, never wrote a novel, although he certainly started plenty, and his correspondence was rather massive. Some of the most important letters in contemporary literature were from him, addressed to his dear friend Jack Kerouac.
Neal Cassady was born here, in 1926, while his parents were on their way to California from Des Moines. They didn’t stay long, but long enough for him to claim it as his birthplace. Leaving town was one of his best talents, and apparently it started at a very young age, soon after birth, in fact. This points out some of the characteristics of the Old West, and particularly the ones that are attached to the idea of a contemporary hero.
Restlessness seems to haunt most of the great figures of contemporary fiction, and Neal Cassady was a living testament to restlessness. His personality was strong enough to inspire a place in two masterpieces of modern writing, both The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, and On the Road . His restlessness was iconic, and it was the heart of the inspirations for both of the journeys that the books depict.
Hearing about him is a reminder of a time of great rootlessness, and goes back to a distinctive romantic aura that not only haunted Salt Lake City’s past, but is still here. It can be touched again when a visitor is passing through, staying at a hotel. Salt Lake is constantly opening up for new generations and new dreams.
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