THE MUSE Carolyn Cassady — What'shername

Carolyn Cassady was an artist, costume designer, writer, and critical influence on the members of the Beat Generation. Her marriage to Neal Cassady and her friendships with Jack Kerouac and other prominent members of the Beats have long overshadowed her own life and accomplishments, but with the recent publication of new manuscripts discovered after her death that is finally beginning to change. An astonishingly talented and prolific creative force, Carolyn Cassady’s legacy of determination, strength, and uniquely creative work is finally being recognized as she emerges from the shadow of “the guys.”

Our guests are Cathy Cassady, eldest daughter of Carolyn and Neal Cassady and editor of Carolyn’s posthumously-published book Travel Tips for the Timid, and Josette Lorig, PhD candidate at the University of Colorado Boulder.

[Correction: in this episode Olivia mistakenly says that Carolyn Cassady discovered Neal, Luanne Henderson and Jack Kerouac in bed together. It was actually Allen Ginsberg, not Jack Kerouac.]

All images by permission of the Cassady Family Estate unless otherwise noted.

A small girl with wild blonde hair and a black old-fashioned swimsuit sits on a log. — Carolyn Cassady age two
Glen Lake, Michigan

A woman in a fashionable wool skirt suit holds a drawing pad and stares intently at something behind the camera. — Carolyn Cassady, age 16

A young woman wearing a fashionable taupe dress leans against a wall and smiles to the right of the camera — Carolyn Cassady at Bennington College, Vermont

A young woman with a beret, leather coat and black turtleneck smiles radiantly at the camera into the back seat from the front seat of a car — Carolyn Cassady

A young couple stand arm in arm, smiling happily. She wears a fashionable wool jacket and skirt, he wears a slightly rumpled-looking brown suit. — Carolyn and Neal Cassady on the day Neal arrived in San Francisco
October 5, 1947

A woman with blonde hair in a 1950s style gazes down at a young toddler girl on her lap. The girl wears a lighg colored dress with Peter-Pan collar and stares into the camera. — Carolyn and Cathy Cassady, 1950
photo by Jane Robinson Castellanos

A woman wearing a white blouse and black skirt sits on a front step next to a man in light colored shirt and khaki trousers. A toddler girl in a black peacoat sits on the man's lap, smiling happily. — Carolyn Cassady, Jack Kerouac, and Cathy Cassady (on Jack’s lap)

A formal black and white portait of a beautiful woman with fashionably pulled-back blonde hair in an early 60s style. — Carolyn Cassady

Black and white photo of a woman and three children sitting in front of a Spanish-style house on grass in very bright sunshine. Two small girls sit to the woman's right, and a toddler boy to her left. — Carolyn Cassady with her children, Cathy, Jami and John

A formal black and white portait of a beautiful woman wearing a black suit jacket and silver brooch. — Carolyn Cassady

A woman holding paintbrushes and wearing all black stands looking at a large portrait on an easel. The portrait depicts a womam with long hair and a black drape sitting at a table with a book. — Carolyn Cassady and her portrait of her niece, Judy Carmichael

A middle-aged woman leans her face on her arms on top of a mailbox which reads "Cassady." She smiles happily at the camera. — Carolyn Cassady

A middle-aged woman in light-colored trousers and a striped sweater sits on the floor in front of a formal armchair. — Carolyn Cassady at home

A family group of adults and children smile at the camera. — Cassady family, 1982

An elderly woman sits on a wood slat in a garden next to a planter box. She wears dark trousers and jacket, and brown boots. She sits leaning foward with her arms crossed over her body staring past the camera with a pleasant expression. — Carolyn Cassady in her garden near Windsor park, England.

Cathy Cassady was born in San Francisco and spent her childhood in the South Bay Area in Monte Sereno, CA. After high school, Cathy spent twenty years working as a medical assistant/transcriber before returning to college. Having spent most of her working years sitting down, she realized it was not a healthy way for folks to spend their working days. She thus earned a B.S. in Exercise Physiology, and an M.S. in Worksite Wellness Management. She spent the rest of her career as a health educator, helping employees stay healthy and fit. She is currently retired, writing, and living with her husband, George, and their loveable Labradoodle, Tula near their three kids and six grandchildren in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Northern California.

Josette Lorig is a PhD candidate in English, Instructor, and the manager of the Laboratory for Race & Popular Culture at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her research focuses on mid-twentieth century literature and culture, popular novels, women’s life-writing, and gender sexuality studies.