Belief and Technique for Modern Prose

work by Kerouac

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July 20, 2026

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"Belief and Technique for Modern Prose" is an essay by Jack Kerouac, published in 1959, that outlines his approach to writing spontaneous prose. Kerouac advocated for a writing style free from conventional punctuation and revision, believing that "first thought, best thought" captured the truth of the moment. Influenced by bebop jazz, he used dashes to create a rhythmic flow, akin to a musician drawing breath between phrases. This technique aimed to convey the immediacy of experience, with language governed by sound and poetic effect, spiraling out from a central image. Kerouac's approach sought to liberate writing from academic constraints, reflecting the raw, lived experiences central to the Beat movement.123

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Jack Kerouac
Legacy of Jack Kerouac
…Spontaneous Prose” (1958) and “Belief and Technique for Modern Prose” (1959). On the grammatically irreverent sentences, Kerouac extolled a “method” eschewing conventional punctuation in favor of dashes. In “Essentials of Spontaneous Prose” he recommended the “vigorous space dash separating rhetorical breathing (as jazz musician drawing breath between outblown phrases)”;…
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…Spontaneous Prose” (1958) and “Belief and Technique for Modern Prose” (1959). On the grammatically irreverent sentences, Kerouac extolled a “method” eschewing conventional punctuation in favor of dashes. In “Essentials of Spontaneous Prose” he recommended the “vigorous space dash separating rhetorical breathing (as jazz musician drawing breath between outblown phrases)”;…
Read More