Unlike conventional tourists, Kerouac and the Beat Generation were declaring a call to arms; encouraging people to throw off the shackles of familiar boundaries and
see themselves as being part of a much wider world. Few books have captivated readers, or given the urge to abandon the drudgery of normality, as you
get when finishing the last sentence of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. It’s a book which leaves the reader wanting to experience more.
The legacy of America's Beat Generation can often be found among travel writers, musicians, poets and even bloggers; where art work, articles, video’s
and photographers provide unique perspectives that are often lacking in the mainstream. After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, day to day accounts of what was taking place,
didn't come from left or right wing journalists but from ordinary Iraqi's, who in a style echoing the Beat Generation, gave outsiders a unique insight
which was lacking in Britain and across the United States.
I always found it ironic, while the Western media was being saturated with freedom and democracy, Iraqi bloggers were talking about history,
culture, politics, sociology and they even introduced Westerners to the famous al-Mutanabbi Street. Al-Mutanabbi Street is the historic centre
of Baghdad bookselling, it's home to bookshops and outdoor bookstalls, and has been the heart and soul of the Baghdad intellectual community
for many years.
What these men and women gave to us was much more than early social media gossip but a thoughtful insight into a world which had been isolated since the first
Gulf War. There were stories which invoked the aroma of spices, the taste of mint tea and the ripeness of fruit. There was laughter at family gatherings and
fishing from the rivers Tigris and Euphrates.
Iraqi blogger’s also introduced people to the diversity of the Arab world, reporting on the various dialects of Arabic, while providing reflections on modern
influences from ancient empires and cultures. They also detailed the desecration of ancient sites and monuments, and explained the struggles that displaced Iraqi’s
encountered on their journeys throughout the region.
It was Jack Kerouac who wisely stated, “the best teacher is experience and not through someone's distorted point of view” and one thing the Iraqi people have
proven, through their creativity in the face of adversity, is “great things are not accomplished, by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion.”
Hussein Al-alak lives in Manchester, England. He is a freelance journalist and editor of Iraq Solidarity News (Al-Thawra).
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