Carolyn Cassady

Carolyn Elizabeth Robinson Cassady (April 28, 1923 – September 20, 2013) was an American writer who was associated with the Beat Generation through her marriage to Neal Cassady and her friendships with Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and other prominent Beat figures. She became a frequent character in the works of Jack Kerouac.

Early life

Carolyn Elizabeth Robinson was born in Lansing, Michigan, on April 28, 1923. The youngest of five siblings, her father Charles S. Robinson was a college professor of nutrition and biochemist and her mother a former English teacher. They raised their children according to strict conventional values. She spent the first eight years of her childhood in East Lansing, then the family moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where she attended the Ward-Belmont College Preparatory School for Girls. Although she enjoyed the school, she was less happy with Nashville, and chose to spend her summers in Glen Lake, Michigan.

After the move to Nashville, she developed her lifelong interest in the fine arts and theater arts. She began formal art lessons at age 9, sold her first portrait at age 14, and continued her interest in portrait painting as an adult. At age 12, she joined the Nashville Community Playhouse, where she won awards for set designs, and became the head of the make-up department at age 16. She secured a scholarship to Bennington College, where she initially studied art and then switched to drama.

Education

In 1943, she studied for six months in New York City. Until her roommate and she could find an apartment of their own, they were hosted by playwright Robert E. Sherwood. By day, she worked for Dazian's fabric company; by night, she studied at Traphagen School of Fashion. She browsed the local museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) for obscure patterns and fabrics. She attended Broadway theatre productions, witnessed the beginning of the American Ballet Theatre, and took in performances of the biggest swing bands of the era. Both her roommate and she became air raid wardens, serving as auxiliary members of the NYPD.

At Bennington College, Carolyn took classes with Martha Graham, Erich Fromm, Peter Drucker, Francis Ferguson, and Theodore Roethke, obtaining her Bachelor of Arts degree in Stanislavsky drama in 1944. After graduation, she became an occupational therapist for the U.S. Army, and served at Torney General Hospital in Palm Springs, California. When WWII ended, she returned to Nashville to continue her work at the Nashville Community Playhouse, paint, and recover from her war experiences.

In 1946, she moved to Denver, Colorado, to study for her master's degree in fine arts and theater arts at the University of Denver. She worked as a teaching assistant and began a theater arts department for the Denver Art Museum.

Involvement with the Beat Generation

In March 1947, Carolyn met Neal Cassady, Jack Kerouac, and Allen Ginsberg. Allen stayed in her residence hotel apartment for two weeks before finding an apartment of his own, and Jack accompanied her to rehearsals at the university. In the evenings, Carolyn, Neal, and Jack frequented Denver's clubs to dance and hear music. During this period, Carolyn and Neal began their love affair, though at the time he was still married to his first wife, Lu Anne Henderson. In August 1947, Carolyn was shocked to find Lu Anne, Neal, and Allen naked in bed together. She decided her brief romance with Neal was over and departed for Hollywood on the promise of a job as costume designer for Western Costume Company. While waiting for the job to open, Carolyn moved north to San Francisco, staying initially with an older married sister before finding temporary work and an apartment of her own.

In a 2008 interview with literary magazine Notes from the Underground, Cassady stated, "As far as I'm concerned, the Beat Generation was something made up by the media and Allen Ginsberg." She went on to say that Jack Kerouac could not stand the public image that was created for him.

Marriage to Neal Cassady

When the job as costume designer finally came through, she declined because she was pregnant. Neal followed her to California and they married on April 1, 1948. On September 7, 1948, Carolyn gave birth to a daughter, Cathleen Joanne, the first of their three children. Neal worked at various jobs, finally becoming a brakeman for the Southern Pacific Railroad. His new wife expected life to settle down, but that December, he spent their savings on a new maroon Hudson and made a trip with his friend Al Hinkle and Lu Anne to connect with Kerouac in North Carolina. Although Neal did make provisions for Carolyn and baby Cathy's care, she considered Neal's sudden departure desertion and told him not to return. The story was immortalized in Kerouac's On the Road. Believing the marriage was finished, Carolyn moved with her infant daughter to an apartment near Mission Dolores in San Francisco.

At the end of January 1949, Neal dropped Jack and LuAnne off on a San Francisco street corner and was back in Carolyn's life. Neal took care of baby Cathleen during the day, while Carolyn worked as an assistant to a radiologist. In San Francisco, Jack spent a few days as a guest in their apartment before returning to New York. After Neal resumed work with the Southern Pacific Railroad, the family moved to better housing. In 1952, Jack joined them for several months, beginning to write Visions of Neal, which later became On the Road, Visions of Cody, and other works. With Neal's encouragement, Carolyn and Jack began an affair that continued until 1960. In 1953, Jack joined Neal working as a brakeman for the Southern Pacific Railroad, and he lived with them after they moved to San Jose, California.