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Ken Kesey

ケン・キージー

Ken Kesey

ペンネーム: O.U. Levon（Pseudonym used for a collaborative class novel (Caverns) authored with his graduate workshop）

プロフィール

性別
男性
生誕
1935-09-17 （La Junta, Colorado, U.S.）
死没
2001-11-10 （Eugene, Oregon, U.S.） 66歳
国籍
United States
言語
English
居住地歴
Springfield, Oregon (grew up) → La Honda, California (residence during 1960s) → Pleasant Hill, Oregon (later life)

経歴

職業
Novelist, Short story writer, Essayist, Poet
活動期間
1957年〜2001年
所属
Beta Theta Pi (fraternity)
影響を受けた人物
Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Beat Generation (general influence)
影響を与えた人物
Grateful Dead (mentored and influenced), Countercultural figures and the 1960s hippie movement

学歴

University of Oregon
School of Journalism and Communication (speech and communication)
学位: BA
期間: 1953–1957
卒業年: 1957
国: United States
Active wrestler; received the Fred Low Scholarship
Stanford University Creative Writing Center (non-degree)
Creative writing (Woodrow Wilson Fellow)
期間: 1958–1961
卒業年: 1961
国: United States
Studied in Stanford's creative writing milieu as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow; formative period for his first major novel

受賞歴

Harper-Saxton Prize
1960
対象作品: First novel in progress (Zoo, unpublished)
結果: 受賞

受賞・候補エディション

作品

代表作

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

1962年 Novel (social realism / anti-institutional themes)

Set in a psychiatric hospital, the novel depicts the clash between a rebellious protagonist and an oppressive institutional regime. Kesey's hospital work and drug-experimentation experiences informed the book.

Institution vs. individualSanity and madnessAnti-authoritarianism
映像化・舞台化
  • [Film] One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest / Miloš Forman (1975)
  • [Stage play] One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (play) / Dale Wasserman (1963)

Sometimes a Great Notion

1964年 Novel (family epic / modernist influences)

An epic about an Oregon logging family. It polarized critics and readers on release; Kesey regarded it as his magnum opus.

FamilyLabor and communityModern American hardships
映像化・舞台化
  • [Film] Sometimes a Great Notion / Paul Newman (1970)

Kesey's Garage Sale

1973年 Essay collection

Collection of essays and reportage; includes travel writing and assorted pieces.

TravelPersonal reminiscenceCultural observation

Demon Box

1986年 Essays and short stories

A collection of essays and short stories collecting experiences and observations from various travels and events.

ReminiscenceObservations on American culture

Sailor Song

1992年 Novel

A later novel published in the early 1990s that received mixed reviews.

Local communityChange and memory

全著作

  • One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
  • Sometimes a Great Notion
  • Kesey's Garage Sale
  • Demon Box
  • Caverns (O.U. Levon, collaborative class novel)
  • The Further Inquiry / Little Tricker the Squirrel Meets Big Double the Bear / Last Go Round / Twister (including collaborations)
  • Kesey's Jail Journal

翻案

  • One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975 film, dir. Miloš Forman)
  • Sometimes a Great Notion (1970 film, dir. Paul Newman)
  • The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (Tom Wolfe, nonfiction account of the Merry Pranksters)

作風・主題

文体
Postmodern-influenced narrationMix of countercultural colloquial voice and reportage
頻出モチーフ
Conflict between institution and individualAmbiguity of madness and sanityLocal American communities and labor

健康

  • Stroke
    1997
    Began decline in health and limited later activities
  • Diabetes
    1992–
    Affected health management in later years
  • Liver tumor (hepatocellular carcinoma)
    2001（手術と合併症）
    Underwent surgery in 2001 but did not recover from complications; led to death

評価・遺産

A prominent writer linked to the 1960s counterculture; One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest has enduring cultural and critical influence. Through the Merry Pranksters he influenced music and youth culture.

資料所蔵先

  • University of Oregon (Ken Kesey papers)

大衆文化への影響

  • Tom Wolfe's The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test documenting the Merry Pranksters
  • Film adaptation of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) winning major Academy Awards
  • Documentaries such as Magic Trip (2011) featuring Merry Pranksters footage
  • Kesey Square in Eugene, Oregon named in his honor

引用

  • I was too young to be a beatnik, and too old to be a hippie.
    出典: Interview with Robert K. Elder (1999) (1999年)

豆知識

  • Served as a subject in drug experiments associated with CIA Project MKULTRA (allegedly without his informed consent)
  • Faked his own suicide in 1965 after a marijuana arrest and fled to Mexico for a time
  • Led the Merry Pranksters and organized Acid Tests, collaborating with the Grateful Dead
  • His son Jed died in a van accident in 1984; Kesey contributed to memorial and support efforts
  • Fathered a daughter, Sunshine Kesey, with Merry Prankster Carolyn 'Mountain Girl' Adams; Sunshine was raised largely by Adams and her family