"Kerouac was never able to convince his critics that the Beat Generation was "basically a religious generation", but his friend [John Clellon] Holmes understood that the characters in On the Road were actually "on a quest, and that the specific object of their quest was spiritual. Though they rushed back and forth across the country on the lightest pretext, gathering kicks along the way, their real journey was inward; and if they seemed to trespass most boundaries, legal and moral, it was only in the hope of finding a belief on the other side." --from the On the Road Introduction by Ann Charters

Welcome to the official site of Albert C. Hinkle. Al and his wife, Helen (d. 1994) were life-long friends of Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady and his wife Carolyn, passengers in the 1949 Hudson during the adventures recounted the acclaimed novel On the Road, and appeared as characters in other Kerouac novels - as Ed and Galatea Dunkel in On the Road, and Slim and  Helen Buckle in Visions of Cody. In Book of Dreams, Al was the inspiration for the character Ed Buckle. In his novel GO, John Clellon Holmes based his character Ed Schindel on Al.

The Hinkle Family is proud of Al's and Helen's involvement in the birth of the Beat Movement and want to share the memories of these adventures. There are many mementos of this most interesting time, many of which Al shares on this site. New video, audio and transcripts will be available as they are completed.

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(c) 2011-2013 Albert C. Hinkle