Lowell, MA is Kerouac's hometown. He was born there in 1922 and Lowell has a lot of love for him. There are a few different websites regarding self-guided Kerouac tours through Lowell, and the city has a Kerouac Festival each October.
When I stop at literary greats' grave sites, I usually bring a piece of theirs along to read at the site. My partner read Kerouac's poem, 113th Chorus (which you can read here) and I read his poem, How to Meditate (read it here). In finding Kerouac's unassuming gravestone, I found that many other people had also recently stopped by to memorialize him. Left on his stone were twelve stones, two sticks, a blue candle (melting in the warm sun), two handwritten notes (which I did not open, out of respect), and an unlit cigarette.
Taking part in this trek created a strong connection between me and the others who have walked along Seventh Street in the Edson Cemetery, searching for the place where the body of the late, great creator of the Beat generation lies forevermore.
In the comments, tell me a time that you have visited the grave site of a literary great, and whether you left anything, read anything, and how you felt about the experience.
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