Ken Kesey Biography

Ken Kesey, Author
Born asKen Elton Kesey
Occup.Author
FromUSA
BornSeptember 17, 1935
La Junta, Colorado, USA
DiedNovember 10, 2001
Eugene, Oregon, USA
Aged66 years
Ken Kesey, a significant figure in the counterculture activity of the 1960s, was born in La Junta, Colorado, on September 17, 1935, and elevated in Springfield, Oregon. His moms and dads were milk farmers Fred as well as Geneva Kesey. He spent his young life in the Pacific Northwest, where he developed a love for nature and the outdoors.

Ken Kesey graduated from senior high school in Springfield in 1953 and went on to study at the University of Oregon in Eugene. He was a talented athlete and a wrestler during his time at the university. Kesey examined literary works and obtained the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship to attend Stanford University as an imaginative writing student. At Stanford, he examined under Wallace Stegner and Malcolm Cowley as well as ended up being close friends with Larry McMurtry, one more noteworthy writer.

In 1956, Kesey married his childhood years sweetie, Faye Haxby. They had three youngsters, Jed, Zane, and Shannon. Faye's assistance played a significant function in Ken's quests, and also their marriage lasted up until his death in 2001.

While at Stanford, Kesey joined medical experiments carried out by the United States government. During these experiments, he was introduced to hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD as well as mescaline, which significantly affected his work and approaches. This led to Kesey's association with the counterculture activity as well as an interest in try out altered states of consciousness.

Kesey's first story, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1962), was a vital as well as business success. The unique, set in a psychological healthcare facility, was based upon Kesey's experiences working at a psychiatric facility in Menlo Park, California. The book critiqued the dehumanizing nature of mental establishments and also ended up being a staple in American senior high school as well as college curricula. In 1975, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" was adjusted into a film, starring Jack Nicholson, which took place to win 5 Academy Awards.

Kesey's second novel, "Sometimes a Great Notion" (1964), likewise obtained vital honor. Embed in Oregon logging nation, the tale concentrated on the complex partnerships and struggles of a family of loggers. The book was later developed into a movie starring Paul Newman in 1970.

Complying with the success of his novels, Kesey formed the "Merry Pranksters," a group of loved ones members who traveled across the United States in a colorfully painted school bus called "Furthur." The Pranksters experimented with hallucinogenic medicines and also were known for holding lively events, occasions, and performances. Kesey and also his Pranksters became a significant pressure in the counterculture motion, together with various other figures such as Timothy Leary and Allen Ginsberg.

The team's experiences were documented by Tom Wolfe in his unique "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" (1968), which presented Kesey as well as the Merry Pranksters to a wider target market.

Kesey continued to compose throughout his life, releasing a number of stories, narratives, articles, and plays. Nevertheless, his later jobs never achieved the very same critical and industrial success as his very early novels.

After moving back to Oregon in 1969, Ken Kesey stayed active in the neighborhood community as well as was a popular member of the "Grateful Dead" as well as "Furthur" music scenes. In his later years, he instructed creating workshops, mentored young authors, as well as added to environmental and also community causes.

On November 10, 2001, Ken Kesey died in Eugene, Oregon, from complications after liver surgery at the age of 66. His legacy in American literature and also counterculture remains to be commemorated for its one-of-a-kind point of view and also powerful prose.

Our collection contains 35 quotes who is written / told by Ken.

Related authors: Paul Newman (Actor), Jack Nicholson (Actor), Tom Wolfe (Journalist), Wallace Stegner (Novelist), Larry McMurtry (Writer), Malcolm Cowley (Critic), Joey Skaggs (Celebrity), Allen Ginsberg (Poet), Timothy Leary (Educator), Lawrence Taylor (Athlete)

Ken Kesey Famous Works:
Source / external links:

35 Famous quotes by Ken Kesey

Small: People think love is an emotion. Love is good sense
"People think love is an emotion. Love is good sense"
Small: To hell with facts! We need stories!
"To hell with facts! We need stories!"
Small: The 60s arent over they wont be over until the Fat Lady gets high
"The '60s aren't over; they won't be over until the Fat Lady gets high"
Small: Id rather be a lightning rod than a seismograph
"I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismograph"
Small: People dont want other people to get high, because if you get high, you might see the falsity of the fa
"People don't want other people to get high, because if you get high, you might see the falsity of the fabric of the society we live in"
Small: Nowhere else in history has there ever been a flag that stands for the right to burn itself. This is th
"Nowhere else in history has there ever been a flag that stands for the right to burn itself. This is the fractal of our flag. It stands for the right to destroy itself"
Small: When we first broke into that forbidden box in the other dimension, we knew we had discovered something
"When we first broke into that forbidden box in the other dimension, we knew we had discovered something as surprising and powerful as the New World when Columbus came stumbling onto it"
Small: Ive been to too many Dead concerts. Thereve been smokin holes where my memory used to be
"I've been to too many Dead concerts. There've been smokin' holes where my memory used to be"
Small: I was raised a Christian and was a stone-faced acid head
"I was raised a Christian and was a stone-faced acid head"
Small: Theres a lot of people who dont understand the circle crops in England. Pure enigma
"There's a lot of people who don't understand the circle crops in England. Pure enigma"
Small: Man, when you lose your laugh you lose your footing
"Man, when you lose your laugh you lose your footing"
Small: Fascism wants Baptism coast to coast
"Fascism wants Baptism coast to coast"
Small: The Republican consciousness has no integrity and it falls apart once you check it out. If youre a Chri
"The Republican consciousness has no integrity and it falls apart once you check it out. If you're a Christian, why would you want to fry this dude?"
Small: The fundamentalists have taken the fun out of the mental
"The fundamentalists have taken the fun out of the mental"
Small: Leary can get a part of my mind thats kind of rusted shut grinding again, just by being around him and
"Leary can get a part of my mind that's kind of rusted shut grinding again, just by being around him and talking"
Small: If grass were legalized, it would help our drug problem enormously
"If grass were legalized, it would help our drug problem enormously"
Small: You dont lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and maki
"You don't lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case"
Small: When Shakespeare was writing, he wasnt writing for stuff to lie on the page it was supposed to get up a
"When Shakespeare was writing, he wasn't writing for stuff to lie on the page; it was supposed to get up and move around"
Small: The truth doesnt have to do with cruelty, the truth has to do with mercy
"The truth doesn't have to do with cruelty, the truth has to do with mercy"
Small: The trouble with super heroes is what to do between phone booths
"The trouble with super heroes is what to do between phone booths"
Small: Take what you can use and let the rest go by
"Take what you can use and let the rest go by"
Small: Me and Norman Mailer have talked about how hard it is in America to get better. Especially at writing
"Me and Norman Mailer have talked about how hard it is in America to get better. Especially at writing"
Small: Listen, wait, and be patient. Every shaman knows you have to deal with the fire thats in your audiences
"Listen, wait, and be patient. Every shaman knows you have to deal with the fire that's in your audience's eye"
Small: Its time to move on to the next step in the psychedelic revolution. Weve reached a certain point, but w
"It's time to move on to the next step in the psychedelic revolution. We've reached a certain point, but we're not moving any more"
Small: I used to think we were going to win in the 60s. Nixon went out and I thought we won
"I used to think we were going to win in the '60s. Nixon went out and I thought we won"
Small: Youve got to get out and pray to the sky to appreciate the sunshine otherwise youre just a lizard stand
"You've got to get out and pray to the sky to appreciate the sunshine; otherwise you're just a lizard standing there with the sun shining on you"
Small: Theres something about taking a plow and breaking new ground. It gives you energy
"There's something about taking a plow and breaking new ground. It gives you energy"
Small: The Grateful Dead are our religion. This is a religion that doesnt pay homage to the God that all the o
"The Grateful Dead are our religion. This is a religion that doesn't pay homage to the God that all the other religions pay homage to"
Small: Loved. You cant use it in the past tense. Death does not stop that love at all
"Loved. You can't use it in the past tense. Death does not stop that love at all"
Small: If youre a Conservative, why arent you behind conserving the land?
"If you're a Conservative, why aren't you behind conserving the land?"
Small: Allen Ginsberg is a tremendous warrior as time goes by. Hes a warrior first and a poet second
"Allen Ginsberg is a tremendous warrior as time goes by. He's a warrior first and a poet second"
Small: When youre around the whole Dead scene, theyre there as a tribal thing theyre there as part of a rendez
"When you're around the whole Dead scene, they're there as a tribal thing; they're there as part of a rendezvous and a pow-wow"
Small: Ritual is necessary for us to know anything
"Ritual is necessary for us to know anything"
Small: The Haight is just a place the 60s was a spirit
"The Haight is just a place; the '60s was a spirit"
Small: The frontiers we broke into in the 60s are still largely unexplored
"The frontiers we broke into in the '60s are still largely unexplored"