He was 66. Died of liver cancer following surgery.
I’m sad.
He wrote one of my favorite required HS books.
Sad? Me too. But at least he left us with some indelible works of genius. Made a profound affect on me as a college student that remains to this day. And will be read (IMO) for generations to come.
FWIW: LA Times Obit
We’ve lost a true gentle giant.
I had the honor of meeting Ken a couple of times. The last time was at the Fillmore back in the 80’s. We bought each other a few drinks and spent a large part of the evening talking. He was a kind, generous, and fun-loving soul. He gave me a toy ray gun which I still have and cherish.
Ken, we’ll miss you. Take care until we can join you on that next bus!
I’m very sad too. When I was in early HS I immediately fell in love with “One Flew…”, both the book and the movie.
A couple of years later, I began using acid and read “The Electric Kool-Ade Acid Test” and I really became a Ken Kesey fan. I was so fascinated by the Pranksters and I so wanted to be able to be a part of what they were about.
I’ll miss ya Ken!
Thanks for the link, leander. It’s strange that the article starts with “Grants Pass, Ore” (which is the town closest to me), instead of “Eugene”. Kesey’s place is almost three hours from Grants Pass. His town is close to Eugene, which is a much bigger town than GP – they have as many students in U of O as we have citizens of GP! And Sacred Heart (hospital) is in Eugene.
Strange. Anyone know why?
(sheesh, I signed off, “Love, Mom”. Thank goodness for preview…)
-Another
I know I’ll miss him. He was a master of “train-of-thought” writing. For me, “Sometimes a Great Notion” is theGreat American Novel.
One of my favorite stories of Kesey is found in Edmund White’s book Genet, a Biography, White describes a meeting between Jean Genet and Kesey which includes this gem: