LOS ANGELES (AP) - Plans to auction the letter that inspired Jack Kerouac to turn "On The Road" into a literary classic are on hold after Kerouac's estate laid claim to the 16,000-word missive from the author's friend Neal Cassady.
Profiles in History spokeswoman Sabrina Propper declined to elaborate but the San Francisco Chronicle quoted an attorney for the Kerouac estate as saying it believes the letter is its property.
Kerouac said Cassady's correspondence, nicknamed "The Joan Anderson Letter," inspired him to scrap an early version of "On The Road" and rewrite it in Cassady's fast-paced, stream-of-consciousness style.