--- You wrote: he wrote the majority of "On the Road" in just three weeks time --- end of quoted material --- with the help of all sorts of chemical substances... Personally, I read Kerouac for his language. He was a master of the rambling, beautiful, mind-blowing sentence. I remember reading On the oad and being tired by the end of the plot, the arrogance and aimlessness of the characters--of everything except the language. I also made it through The Town and the City--his 800-plus page tome in which he tried to imitate Thomas Wolfe--solely on the strength of its language. He's worth reading, especially for writers, just for that. Grapes of Wrath in 100 days? I didn't know that...I am currently writing a novel as my senior thesis in college and the idea of finishing it by May is (still) staggering. But--my reason for posting. D, could you please post "Capote's infamous quote"? I can't think of what it would be, although maybe I've heard it. Sorry about the headache, Bethany