When a 17-year-old, a fresh-eyed 17-year-old Michael Imperioli first moved to New York City in the early 1980s, just as he began to find his position in the buzzing art world of East Village, he wandered through St. Mark’s books and picked a book that would change his life forever: “The Diamond Sutra.” ”

Written in India sometime in the 2nd century AD, the historic Buddhist text is considered the world's earliest printed book, and is not the literary fare you expect to capture the 1980s teenagers' obsession with New York, a subset of Bret Easton Ellis, JD Salinger and William Sapering and William S. Burroughs. But when Imperioli's favorite writer Jack Kerouac announced his dedication to the Manuscripts at the time, even pledging to read every day after reorganizing it into seven daily books, Imperioli picked up the book and never looked back.

So far, the exact paperback still sits on bookshelf in his Upper West Side home.

“Not many writers have been with you all their lives,” Imperioli, a Buddhist now practicing, told me at Spring Studios at Tribeca Film Festival, which premiered this week a documentary about legendary beat writers. Directed by Ebs Burnough, “The Road of Keruoac: The Rhythm of a Generation,” examines how Keruoac’s iconic novel “In the Road” continues to resonate in contemporary America, exploring the writer’s uneasy journey in the eyes of some of his most famous admirers, such as Josh Brolin, Josh Brolin, W. Kamamau Bell, Natalie Mer, Natalie Mercant and Immerioli.

For the soprano actor, the 1957 automatic novel is a metaphor for life, undeniably influenced by the Buddhist tenets in which Kerouac lives. "We are open to experience from birth to death, open to others," he said in contemplatively. "Especially now, at this moment in this country, especially as we are whipped into crazy tribalism, division and generalization, people are trapped in camps."

He hopes that with the help of this document, the younger generation will pick up Kerouac’s book to “literally inspire them, experience this travel, this travel, openness to other people or other cultures.”

At a minimum, he said, he hoped that would push them to “take up his book, just for the sheer pleasure of great literature.”

Before "The Road to Keruoac: The Beat of a Generation" at the Tribeca Film Festival type Chat with Imperioli, his love for literature, Buddhism, politics and his idea of ​​changing New York quickly.

Your first introduction to Jack Kerouac, why did he resonate with you?

There are not many writers with you all their lives. He is the one I come back to and reread a lot of things, always with a lot of compassion. Be open to others, to life and experience, especially to others. And, it’s always very, very powerful, and his incredible skills as a writer and his exciting way of expressing himself, which is really very new to American literature.

He would watch Bebop jazz musicians improvise and stuff like that and try to work in literature and novels. But it is indeed open heart, and I think it is true in all his works, his poetry and novels. Unfortunately, he is always like a guide post, and sometimes rarely open and compassionate.

What do you think this young generation can learn from Kerouac's lifestyle and his writing?

I think "on the road" is obviously a metaphor for life. This time we go from birth to death and open up our experiences and open to others. I mean, especially at the moment, in this country, especially at this moment, we are trapped in the madness of tribalism, division and generalization, and people are trapped in camps. If someone disagrees with what you think of something, you don’t want to deal with them. You object to them, they are much more complicated than you know.

I like being surprised. I like when my presets are reversed and proven to be wrong because we often have preconceived ideas about people and what they will be and what they think. Surprisingly it's a good thing. So hopefully, in the literal sense, the book might inspire people, perhaps to experience this kind of travel, this kind of openness and travel, openness to other people or other cultures, at least, maybe with young audiences or young audiences or people who have not been exposed to him. Pick up his book and read it for the sheer pleasure of great literature.

How does your spirituality articulate your view on the turbulent political landscape today?

Well, from a Buddhist perspective, everything is changing. Everything will change, nothing is perfect. So in this sense, you can want people to change and learn from their mistakes and learn from their difficulties. Buddhism teaches that everyone is enlightened in nature within them, and that is indeed their true nature – a pure, unaffected mind, lacking in thought and habitual patterns. It is pure, open, infinite, and all of these things. Therefore, Buddhists teach you that everyone has Buddha nature.

But this is very difficult in this world. Because I think it's really hard, right? Exposed to 24/7 information. I don't think we're going to process that much information. A little impossible. You know, there will always be problems in the world, there will always be problems. But we have to find a way to navigate and still be siblings, fathers, mothers, friends and colleagues and all of these things. We have to find a way to do this.

You purchased the first Kerouac book on St. Mark's Books 19. Now, there are a lot of words about how much has changed in St. Marks in the past few years. As a New Yorker native, what do you think about how much changes have happened to the city?

The sad thing about the change in New York is that it has gone from a city where businesses can be owned (whether it is restaurants, bookstores, clothing stores, etc.) and moved into businesses run by companies. This is a big difference. So you start to lose your true traits and uniqueness. That's a sad part of the city's crazy economics.

Economics makes it difficult. Things like that about a business owned by an individual or a family. Losing that is rough. It's really sad because instead of replacing it with it, you're replacing it with a corporate store, or even a group-owned restaurant, rather than a place that's opened with your daughter or something. I still love this city. Still New York. It's different, but I do like it.

You also grew up on the punk rock stage in New York as a musician. What do you miss the most in that era?

I think the music industry in New York is actually much better than it was at the beginning of this century.

Really?

I mean not to start. So, like in 2000, something good happened. And then by 2010, it's so scary, right? But now it's much better. I have no idea. I don't know why. Young people more… Because it is so expensive, we have to be very serious about your work, which is a good thing, a bad thing.

Do you know how dare you?

No, should I?

No.