Paul Maher Jr. (born 1963) is an author, book critic, photographer and filmmaker best known for his published books about
Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation.
Of French-Canadian anc ...
.
Early life and education
Paul Maher Jr. was born in
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo ( ; Spanish for " yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall Co ...
, where his father was stationed in the
Air Force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ar ...
. Shortly afterwards the family moved to
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, It is one of two traditional county seat, seats of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,5 ...
, where Maher remained through childhood. Upon graduating from
Dracut High School
Dracut Senior High School is the public senior high school in the Merrimack Valley town of Dracut, Massachusetts, United States.
The high school's colors are Columbia blue, navy blue, white and gold. The team name is the ''Middies'' and the symbo ...
, he joined the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
where he served in the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...
aboard the
USS ''Ramsey''. Upon discharge, Maher returned to Lowell. He attended
Middlesex Community College and the
University of Massachusetts Lowell
The University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell and UML) is a public research university in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a satellite campus in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It is the northernmost member of the University of Massachusetts public u ...
, where he obtained an undergraduate degree in
American studies
American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, history, society, and culture. It traditionally incorporates literary criticism, historiography and critical theory.
Sch ...
. He later completed a master's degree in Education with a concentration in English.
Career
From 2004 through the present, Maher authored and edited five books for publication. Maher is also rewriting his book on the real-life adventures of Jack Kerouac's ''
On the Road''. Ongoing projects are his transcriptions and annotations of the unpublished ''Extracts Related to the Indians'' by
Henry David Thoreau, and ''Kalendar'' (working title) a film project based on Thoreau's natural history writings.
[ He is also researching and writing a book on Terrence Malick's 2017 film, The Voyage of Time.
]
Published works
* 2004 ''Kerouac: The Definitive Biography'' (Taylor Trade Publishing)
* 2005 ''Empty Phantoms: Interviews and Encounters with Jack Kerouac'' (Thunder's Mouth Press)
* 2007 ''Jack Kerouac's American Journey: The Real-Life Odyssey of On the Road'' (Thunder's Mouth Press)
* 2007 ''Kerouac: His Life and Work'' (Taylor Trade Publishing) (revised, formerly ''Kerouac: The Definitive Biography'')
* 2008 ''Extracts Related to the Indians - Notebook One by H.D. Thoreau'' ed. & annotated by P. Maher Jr.
* 2008 ''Extracts Related to the Indians - Notebook Two by H.D. Thoreau'' ed. & annotated by P. Maher Jr.
* 2009 ''Miles on Miles: Interviews and Encounters with Miles Davis'' (Chicago Review Press)ed. by P. Maher Jr. and Michael K. Dorr
* 2011 ''Tom Waits on Tom Waits: Interviews and Encounters'' (Chicago Review Press)
Forthcoming work
* 2014 ''Kalendar'' (a film)
* I Am the Revolutionary: Young Jack Kerouac (2017)
* Terrence Malick's Voyage of Time (2018)
Publishers
* Thunder's Mouth Press
* Taylor Trade Publishing
* Southern Illinois University Press
Southern Illinois University Press or SIU Press, founded in 1956, is a university press located in Carbondale, Illinois, owned and operated by Southern Illinois University.
The press publishes approximately 50 titles annually, among its more t ...
* Chicago Review Press
Chicago Review Press, or CRP, is a U.S. book publisher and an independent company founded in 1973. Chicago Review Press publishes approximately 60 new titles yearly under eight imprints: Chicago Review Press, Lawrence Hill Books, Academy Chicago, ...
* Da Capo Press
Da Capo Press is an American publishing company with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. It is now an imprint of Hachette Books.
History
Founded in 1964 as a publisher of music books, as a division of Plenum Publishers, it had additional o ...
* American Renaissance Press
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
Personal life
Maher is the father of two daughters, Rachel and Chloe.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maher, Paul Jr.
American male writers
Living people
1963 births
People from Amarillo, Texas
Writers from Massachusetts
Middlesex Community College (Massachusetts) alumni
University of Massachusetts Lowell alumni