Which Jack Kerouac novel, published in 1958, follows the aspiring poet Ray Smith?

Jack Kerouac’s 1958 novel The Dharma Bums follows the aspiring poet Ray Smith.

Ray Smith is a fictionalized version of Kerouac, while the novel’s central friend, Japhy Ryder, is based largely on poet Gary Snyder. The story explores friendship, poetry, mountaineering, Buddhism, and the search for a less conventional life in postwar America.

The novel draws on real people and events from the Beat circle, but it is not a straightforward documentary. Kerouac reshaped experience into fiction and used his characteristic travel-oriented, conversational narration. Much of the action moves between California and the mountains of the American West.

The Dharma Bums is often grouped with On the Road, but the books have different emphases. On the Road focuses more strongly on cross-country travel and movement, whereas The Dharma Bums gives greater attention to Buddhist ideas, wilderness, and poetic fellowship.