Almanac of Story Tellers: Ken Kesey

Every day brings a new story.  And each day contributes to story telling -- in prose and in poetry, in art and in music, on the stage, on the screen, and, of course, in books. 

Today is the story of Sept. 17th

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    It is the 260th day of the year, leaving 105 days remaining in 2022.

   

    On this date in 1935, the novelist Ken Kesey was born.

    He told his stories based on incidents he had during his early life, using metaphorical characters to show societal problems. He saw himself as a bridge between the Beat Generation and the hippies, using both in his LSD-fueled trips around the country with the Merry Pranksters, as chronicled by Tom Wolfe in The Electric Kool-Aid Test.

    Although Kesey wrote fiction and non-fiction throughout his life, he is perhaps best known for his debut novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. It was a popular and critical success when published in 1962. 

    Inspired by his time talking to patients while working the night shift in a psychiatric ward, Kesey wrote the novel about such men. He believed they were not insane, but were being punished for acting differently from society's expectations. 

    It was a tribute to individual principles. Many of the patients believed society was somehow controlling their thoughts through drugs, coercion, or violence. It was written during the Civil Rights Era, when many groups were seeking greater autonomy.

    The novel was quickly adapted as a play, and in 1975, into an award-winning movie that is often considered among the best ever.

    Kesey's next novel was Sometimes a Great Notion, about a obstinate logging family in Oregon that tries to operate during a union strike. It goes into great detail about the family's history against the town, symbolized by a raging river beside their house.

    Critics loved the book, and Kesey called it his magnum opus. But after his Merry Pranksters time and a stint in jail for marijuana possession, Kesey retreated to his farm in Oregon. He continued to teach and write for various magazines. He published several more books, including Caverns, which he wrote with a creative writing class he taught at the University of Oregon.

    Kesey died in 2001 in Eugene, Ore.