Kerouac himself is represented as Ray Smith. Japhy Ryder is Gary Snyder, Alvah Goldbook (who reads a poem called ‘Wail’) is Allen Ginsberg (author of Howl), and Neal Cassady makes a few brief appearances, not as Dean Moriarty but as Cody Pomeray. Virtually all Kerouac’s novels are about him and his friends, and ‘Dharma Bums’ is no exception. Published in 1958 by Viking Press as the follow-up to that very successful book, The Dharma Bums is a gentler and more spiritual work about a group of writers on the cusp of literary fame and flying on a Buddhist kick, inspired by Zen lunatic Japhy Ryder, who is to ‘Dharma Bums’ what Dean Moriarty is to ‘On The Road’.
A lot of people, myself included, consider this Jack Kerouac’s second best novel (after You-Know-What).
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