VISIONS OF CODY


Kerouac wrote Visions of Cody between October 1951 and April 1952, in New York and San Francisco.
Although he considered Visions of Cody to be his masterwork, a view now shared by most
Kerouac scholars, Allen Ginsberg, on first reading the book in 1952, declared it "a holy mess" and
stated that he did not think it could be published anywhere. Publishers apparently shared that view,
and although various short extracts appeared in magazines, the book remained unpublished until
January 1960, when Excerpts from Visions of Cody appeared in a limited, signed edition of 750
copies from New Directions. This version comprised about one third of the total text, and the book
was not published in full until January 1973, more than three years after Kerouac's death.


EXCERPTS FROM VISIONS OF CODY

New Directions, 1960

US 1960 US 1960 US 1960 US 1960 US 1960 US 1960
Front cover Title page Introduction First page Signature page Insert

VISIONS OF CODY (USA)

US 1973 US 1974 US 1989 US 1993 US 1996 US 2011
McGraw-Hill 1973 McGraw-Hill 1974 McGraw-Hill 1989 Penguin 1993 Penguin 1996 Penguin 2011

VISIONS OF CODY (UK)

UK 1973 UK 1980 UK 1992 UK 1995 UK 2001 UK 2012
Deutsch 1973 Granada 1980 Flamingo 1992 Flamingo 1995 Flamingo 2001 Penguin 2012

VISIONS OF CODY (OTHERS)

Brazil 2009 Bulgaria 2004 Czech 2011 France 1993 France 1999 France 2012
Brazil 2009 Bulgaria 2004 Czech Rep 2011 France 1993 France 1999 France 2012
Greece 2015 Hungary 2007 Italy 1974 Italy 1979 Italy 1995 Italy 2005
Greece 2015 Hungary 2007 Italy 1974 Italy 1979 Italy 1995 Italy 2005
Russia 2016 Spain 1975 Spain 1976 Spain 2014
Russia 2016 Spain 1975 Spain 1976 Spain 2014



Before the publication of Excerpts from Visions of Cody in 1960, some extracts from the book had been
published by magazines, including the "Neal and the Three Stooges" and "October in the Poolhall" sections.
Kerouac had retitled the Poolhall section (pages 47-70 of the 1973 edition) as "The Early History of Dean
Moriarty" in an attempt to interest magazine publishers. It was eventually taken up by Playboy.

NEW EDITIONS

"Neal and the Three Stooges," as recorded by Kerouac the following year for the LP Readings on the
Beat Generation
.

US 1957 US 1957 Italy 1993
New Editions 1957 Text Italy 1993

PLAYBOY

Playboy followed up on the success of On the Road by publishing the complete "October in the Poolhall"
section of Visions of Cody as "Before the Road: The earlier adventures of Dean Moriarty".

US 1959 US 1959 US 1959
Playboy 1959 Illustration Text



Following the publication of Excerpts from Visions of Cody, extracts from the book appeared in
some magazines, while others preferred to publish sections omitted from the Excerpts.

THE BEATS

Three extracts from the Excerpts which follow on from the "October in the Poolhall" section.

US 1960 US 1960 US 1960 US 1963
US Gold Medal 1960 Text Text (cont) US Gold Medal 1963

ESCAPADE

"The mad road" section, from the Excerpts, which was also used in Kerouac's introduction to
Robert Frank's book of photographs, The Americans (1960). The first half also appeared in
Madrugada (1970).

US 1961 US 1961
Escapade 1961 Text

TRANSATLANTIC REVIEW 1962

The "Joan Rawshanks in the Fog" section, which had not been included in New Directions' Excerpts.

UK 1962 UK 1962
TR 9, UK 1962 Text

THE MODERNS

This anthology included the "Manhattan Sketches" section from the beginning of
Visions of Cody, which had not been included in New Directions' Excerpts.

US 1963 US 1963 UK 1967
US 1963 Text UK 1967

NEW DIRECTIONS READER

The New Directions Reader, in a piece titled "Meet Cody," used the first half of the Poolhall
section from the Excerpts, but, unlike Playboy, kept the hero's name as Cody Pomeray.

US 1964 US 1964 US 1964
ND Reader 1964 Text Text (cont)

ICE

Some extracts from the Poolhall section from New Directions' Excerpts.

UK 1966 UK 1966
Ice, UK 1966 Text

THE NEW WRITING IN THE USA

The same complete Poolhall section as published in Playboy, but preserving the hero's name as Cody Pomeray.

UK 1967 UK 1967
UK Penguin 1967 Text

TRANSATLANTIC REVIEW 1969

Although some of the later tape sessions were included in the Excerpts, this "First Night of the Tapes"
section was not. Here, the real character names are preserved.

UK 1969 UK 1969
TR 33/34, UK 1969 Text

MADRUGADA

The first half of "The mad road" section, from the Excerpts.

US 1970 US 1970
Madrugada 1970 Text

OUI

The second half of the "October in the Poolhall" section.

US 1973 US 1973 US 1973
Oui 1973 Illustration Text

MANHATTAN SKETCHES

The same sketches as in The Moderns, published by Pirate Edition (a forerunner of Hanuman Books) in 1987.

US 1987
US 1987

PLAYBOY

In the January/February 2013 edition, Playboy published an edited version of their December 1959 piece,
"Before the Road," calling it "Chasing Moriarty".

US 2013 US 2013 US 2013
Playboy 2013 Illustration Text

THE NOTEBOOKS

The original notebooks in which Kerouac wrote Visions of Neal, 1951-1952,
now housed at the New York Public Library.

Notebooks




 Compiled by Dave Moore

 Thanks to Rod Anstee, Niels Hansen, Max Nemtsov, Michael Powell, and Paul Rickert for the use of their book cover images.



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