The Jack Kerouac School was founded at Naropa University in 1974 by Chögyam Trungpa, and Beat Generation poets Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman. The school consists of the Summer Writing Program and the Department of Writing and Poetics, which administers the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Writing and Poetics, the MFA in Creative Writing (low residency program), and the BA in Writing and Literature.
The Kerouac School has as its mission the education of students as knowledgeable practitioners of the literary arts. Its objectives toward that mission include encouraging a disciplined practice of writing and cultivating a historical and cultural awareness of literary studies. The view that one can continuously open to "big mind" for freshness and inspiration informs the school's approach to creative writing as a contemplative practice. In this spirit, university founder Chögyam Trungpa's notion of "art in everyday life" is fundamental to its pedagogy and aesthetic, combining both Eastern and Western wisdom.
The Naropa Summer Writing Program celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2004.
Sam Kashner wrote the book When I Was Cool about his experience there. In 1978, Costanzo Allione made a short documentary film, ‘Fried Shoes, Cooked Diamonds’, about the school.
The school cosponsored the Association of Writers & Writing Programs 2010 annual conference in Denver, Colorado.
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