Thoughts on Ken KESEY
kitchenknight
4,922 Posts
Ken Kesey may not be the best author, but he is my favorite. I always make that distinction; his writing, his life, and his work are all very flawed, but these flaws help reveal his greatness.His first two books, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," and the CRIMINALLY SLEPT ON "Sometimes a Great Notion," are arguably the best 1-2 punch of any 20th Century American novelist. The first book is great; the second book is transcendent, and marks a turning point in history, as well as a downturn in Kesey's writing."Sometimes a Great Notion," is the story of the Stamper family, a logging clan in a small Oregon town. The local union is striking, and the only holdouts are the Stampers. led by their eccentric patriarch, Henry, and his mirror image son, Hank, the Stampers are a tough as nails, 'never give an inch,' bunch that stands outside the town, teetering on a cliff, and on the edge of something...greatness or eradication. No one really knows.In this conflict, Kesey manages a masterful examination of man vs. nature, east vs. west, intellectual vs. physical, union vs. worker, town vs. family, father vs. son, brother vs. brother, man vs. wife, past vs. present vs. future...and ultimately, man vs. man. His book is a very real indictment of hypermasculinity, and for all of the greatness it can afford, the weaknesses inherent in this myopic existence. It is also an incredibly moving, funny, and epic saga of one working class family and town. The smalltown bar dialogue in it has never been topped, in my opinion.When Kesey finished it in 1964, he said it was the best thing he would ever write. And, it was in fact his book tour for that book that became the famous Bus Trip of the Merry Pranksters. Think about that; the best book this great American author would ever write has been outshone by the seminal, though VASTLY (CANYON size vast) inferior, "Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test," which documented what happened to Kesey during and immediately after his books publication.The publication was tough, I should add. Many critics thought the book to be overly long, self indulgent, and the reviews were extremely mixed. By most reports, Kesey took this hard, which led to him turning his attention to the happenings and Acid Tests that whe would become known for. I admire Kesey as an author for his endless curiosity, his exploratory nature, and his daring during the 60s. I see a lot of it in myself; my intrests are wide, spanning from music to literature to food/drink/drinking to dominoes to politics. He was also a great teacher, a stubborn and at time reluctant leader, and a great lover of writing. So, this is what draws me to him as a figure. At the same time, the part of me that values his writing so highly will always know that it was those divided interests that left us with only two great works, a couple essay collections, and two later novels that just weren't nearly as good.When Kesey died, one of his eulogizers was quoted as saying that he was a towering figure, strong, and the only man who could stand stock still with his hands at his sides. Not in his pockets, not folding his arms, not biting his nails. Stoic and comfortable, with his hands at his sides. I like to picture him overlooking an Oregon river bend like this.Ken Kesey is a major figure in my life, and I encourage all of you to read his first two novels, but especially the second. I've read a lot, and it is my favorite.(if any of the facts in this are a bit off, please forgive. I'm at work, I haven't read Electric Kool Aid in 10 years, and I did a lot of Kesey-esque activities in that time. I hope you take the spirit of these words to heart...)
Comments
Are you talking about the best debut and second novel combination or any two novels? Either way I think this is a bit of a stretch.
im in need of a good book, now i know which one ill buy.
cheers mate.
I'll take your recommendation and pick up those two novels. Thanks!!!
Yes, was saying debut-second novel. And, yes, I threw arguably in there because I figured he wouldn't be number one on both lists. But, I think there is at least an argument.
And yes, his treatment of race/racism in Sometimes a Great Notion is somiething to discuss if not question; i've had that PM convo w/ Harvey before, and it was all very civil and came to some sort of agreement. But, for purposes of this conversation, I didn't want to muddy the waters.
While we're at it:
Best Debut-Second Novel by a 20th Century Author (male, female, anyone)
I'm rolling with Kesey.
Thomas Pynchon:
V
The Crying of Lot 49
Worldwide:
James Joyce:
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Ulysses
Last year I sent away for a library VHS copy of the movie version, directed by Paul Newman. Not a bad flick but no film could ever do the book justice.
I just read a decent book about all the so-called New Journalism dudes -- Wolfe, Thompson, Mailer. I think it was called Refusing to Write Straight or something along those lines. It said Wolfe took acid with Timothy Leary, but not the Merry Pranksters -- to get a better handle of what's going on.
Wasn't 'Dubliners,' Joyce's debut? Either way, those two would beat Kesey on most lists, yes.
Kesey does have a strong first two. It just seems he could never put anything good after that. Maybe it was jail that did it.
I guess I was thinking first two pieces; either way, Dubliners is major. I considered Phillip Roth as well, because "Goodbye, Columbus," is a killer debut; I believe 'Letting Go,' was next, which i've heard by most accounts is ...ehh. Forget, though.
yeah, Kesey's career arc was similar to his description of doing DMT in Electric Kool Aid: Like being shot out of a canon, a major trip for 20 minutes. Whereas writers like Roth, Samuel Beckett, Cormac McCarthy, et al are like the longer acid trip.
The Sun Also Rises
A Farewell to Arms
Oof. We have a winner. Sun Also Rises is the most hardasfuck ending. jesus.
Actually, now that we're at it I have to re-read The Sun Also Rises as well. Damn I love that book.
he was a wrestler and a farmboy,leader,father,husband,prankster,teacher,trafic cop in egypt,professor,etc
a mythical man larger than life and big hearted and the likes of which we probobly will never see from our current young AMERICAN writers
he always offered the option of peace and intellect as a solution instead of brutality
a student and a promising young writer at stamford who kick started a big chunk of what would be co opted into
"the counter culture"
he gave cassidy a new platform after kerouac pickled himself dead then
midwifed the dead /acid/owsley/neon/dayglo/acid tests which set a standard and the templete for RAVE culture
he was a realist a true taoist who threw the i ching daily
and a pot head booze loving thought criminal
tarnished galihand
but he was not on some peace loving hippy shit
it was rooted in the outlaw state of mind
there's a great ear out there.....................
Goodbye, Columbus is also really a collection, even though the first story is about 100 pages.
I'd throw Baldwin out there as the best American...
Go Tell it on the mountain
Giovanni's Room.
I think Kakfa could hold his own with Joyce
The Metamorphosis
The Trial
(or the Castle if you don't think the metamorphosis can stand up to the Novel test)
Goodbye, Columbus is a great story.
Then you gotta throw JD Salinger in there too...
Kesey is better than Salinger to me; he doesn't age well. Kesey is a fine wine.
the pranksters maintained quite a presence here in oregon for up to the time of kesey's passing. i still remember pulling into the autzen stadium lot for a dead show and having ken babbs greet us at the gate.
zygone blackmarks
http://www.skypilotclub.com/index.html
nabokov: the real life of sebastien knight and lolita = first two in english, he'd done like 8 in russian
already.
Henry Miller:
1) Tropic Of Capricorn
2) Sexus
Of course, cuckoos nest is seminal and I found EKAT very inspiring. That group of artists and thinkers pushed the envelope of conciousness in a very positive way. I am sad that I never got a chance to meet Kesey though I had many chances.
After those Dead shows a Autzen, my friend Paul went back to Kesey's farm and hung out on Furthur while tripping.