Spit in the Ocean #7

All About Ken Kesey

Author Various
Introduction by Gus Van Sant
Edited by Ed McClanahan
Look inside
Paperback
$24.00 US
On sale Oct 28, 2003 | 272 Pages | 978-0-14-200363-3
Between 1974 and 1981 Ken Kesey self-published six issues of a literary magazine called Spit in the Ocean. After the revolutionary novelist's death in the fall of 2001, one of his closest friends, acclaimed writer Ed McClanahan, decided to carry out Kesey's vision and put together a final issue of Spit as a tribute to Kesey's genius and imperturbable spirit. Featuring contributions from cultural luminaries-including Robert Stone, Paul Krassner, Wendell Berry, Bill Walton, and Grateful Dead lyricists Robert Hunter and John Perry Barlow-as well as "regular folk," and several pieces by Kesey himself, Spit in the Ocean #7 is a loving and fitting homage to the gigantic and unique spirit of the merriest of the Merry Pranksters.
Spit in the OceanWavy Gravy - Haiku for Kesey
Gus Van Sant - Shazam! (Foreword)
Ed McClanahan - R.I.P., Spit in the Ocean, 1973-2003 (Introduction)
Michael Strelow - All That Hoo-Ha
Ken Kesey - A Letter to Jim Wolpman
Paul Krassner - Kesey's Last Prank
Patrice Mackey - It's the Kids
Douglas Brinkley - Majic Bus Meets Further II
Walt Curtis - The Way It Is
Lewis Nordan, from an Interview with Jeremy L. C. Jones - "Here Came a White Cadillac!"
Ken Kesey - Karma (and Other Sermons)
George Walker - Bus Story #1: Definitely the Bus
Bill Walton - The Point Man
Ken Babbs - The Diverticulum
Paul Zarzyski - Two Poems
Lee Quarnstrom - A State of Grace
Ken Kesey - Departures: Three Heavies Take Their Leave
Wendell Berry - Kentucky River Junction: A Letter and a Poem
Chloe Scott - Bus Story #2: NO Furthur
Hunter S. Thompson - Walking with the King
Glen Love - The Words on the Page
Ken Babbs - The Tooth
Pat Monaghan - The Character: McMurphy Goes to High School... and Gets an A
Ken Kesey, from an Interview with Mike Finoia - "Wrong Way! Go Back!"
Happy (with a little help from Genie Murphy) - I Am Kesey's Dog
Larry McMurtry - Bus Story #3: Stark Gets Off the Bus
Ken Babbs - The Cuff Links
Vic Lovell - Elegy for Ken
Sterling Lord - Last Rites
Tom Wolfe - "In the Pudding"
Anonymous, from an Interview with Rick Dodgson - Bus Story #4: "Can I Go with You?" Anonymous Gets on a Bus
John Daniel - The Prankster Moves On
Ken Kesey - Earthshoes
John Perry Barlow - Eulogy for Ken
James Baker Hall - Ken
Rosalie Sorrels - Last Go Round: A Song for Ken Kesey
Eileen Babbs - The White Tent
Jim Dodge - A Ceremony of Consolation
Ken Kesey and Gurney Norman - A Correspondence
Candace Lambrecht - Bus Story #5: Further Goes to Sea
Ed McClanahan - The Day the Lampshades Breathed
Kathryn Lawder - "Now THAT'S Ken Kesey!"
Robert Stone - The Boys Octet
David Stanford - Working with Kesey
Ken Babbs - Hornswoggled
Ken Kesey - Getting Better: A Radio Interview Conducted by Sharon Wood, with John Nance and Paul Pintarich
John Nance - An Unheard Melody (Photo Essay)
Robert Hunter - Lament for Kesey
Brer Kesey's Words to the Wise
The improbable life story of Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904) included a peculiarly gothic childhood in Ireland during which he was successively abandoned by his mother, his father and his guardian; two decades in the United States, where he worked as a journalist and was sacked for marrying a former slave; and a long period in Japan, where he married a Japanese woman and wrote about Japanese society and aesthetics for a Western readership. His ghost stories, which were drawn from Japanese folklore and influenced by Buddhist beliefs, appeared in collections throughout the 1890s and 1900s. He is a much celebrated figure in Japan. View titles by Various

About

Between 1974 and 1981 Ken Kesey self-published six issues of a literary magazine called Spit in the Ocean. After the revolutionary novelist's death in the fall of 2001, one of his closest friends, acclaimed writer Ed McClanahan, decided to carry out Kesey's vision and put together a final issue of Spit as a tribute to Kesey's genius and imperturbable spirit. Featuring contributions from cultural luminaries-including Robert Stone, Paul Krassner, Wendell Berry, Bill Walton, and Grateful Dead lyricists Robert Hunter and John Perry Barlow-as well as "regular folk," and several pieces by Kesey himself, Spit in the Ocean #7 is a loving and fitting homage to the gigantic and unique spirit of the merriest of the Merry Pranksters.

Table of Contents

Spit in the OceanWavy Gravy - Haiku for Kesey
Gus Van Sant - Shazam! (Foreword)
Ed McClanahan - R.I.P., Spit in the Ocean, 1973-2003 (Introduction)
Michael Strelow - All That Hoo-Ha
Ken Kesey - A Letter to Jim Wolpman
Paul Krassner - Kesey's Last Prank
Patrice Mackey - It's the Kids
Douglas Brinkley - Majic Bus Meets Further II
Walt Curtis - The Way It Is
Lewis Nordan, from an Interview with Jeremy L. C. Jones - "Here Came a White Cadillac!"
Ken Kesey - Karma (and Other Sermons)
George Walker - Bus Story #1: Definitely the Bus
Bill Walton - The Point Man
Ken Babbs - The Diverticulum
Paul Zarzyski - Two Poems
Lee Quarnstrom - A State of Grace
Ken Kesey - Departures: Three Heavies Take Their Leave
Wendell Berry - Kentucky River Junction: A Letter and a Poem
Chloe Scott - Bus Story #2: NO Furthur
Hunter S. Thompson - Walking with the King
Glen Love - The Words on the Page
Ken Babbs - The Tooth
Pat Monaghan - The Character: McMurphy Goes to High School... and Gets an A
Ken Kesey, from an Interview with Mike Finoia - "Wrong Way! Go Back!"
Happy (with a little help from Genie Murphy) - I Am Kesey's Dog
Larry McMurtry - Bus Story #3: Stark Gets Off the Bus
Ken Babbs - The Cuff Links
Vic Lovell - Elegy for Ken
Sterling Lord - Last Rites
Tom Wolfe - "In the Pudding"
Anonymous, from an Interview with Rick Dodgson - Bus Story #4: "Can I Go with You?" Anonymous Gets on a Bus
John Daniel - The Prankster Moves On
Ken Kesey - Earthshoes
John Perry Barlow - Eulogy for Ken
James Baker Hall - Ken
Rosalie Sorrels - Last Go Round: A Song for Ken Kesey
Eileen Babbs - The White Tent
Jim Dodge - A Ceremony of Consolation
Ken Kesey and Gurney Norman - A Correspondence
Candace Lambrecht - Bus Story #5: Further Goes to Sea
Ed McClanahan - The Day the Lampshades Breathed
Kathryn Lawder - "Now THAT'S Ken Kesey!"
Robert Stone - The Boys Octet
David Stanford - Working with Kesey
Ken Babbs - Hornswoggled
Ken Kesey - Getting Better: A Radio Interview Conducted by Sharon Wood, with John Nance and Paul Pintarich
John Nance - An Unheard Melody (Photo Essay)
Robert Hunter - Lament for Kesey
Brer Kesey's Words to the Wise

Author

The improbable life story of Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904) included a peculiarly gothic childhood in Ireland during which he was successively abandoned by his mother, his father and his guardian; two decades in the United States, where he worked as a journalist and was sacked for marrying a former slave; and a long period in Japan, where he married a Japanese woman and wrote about Japanese society and aesthetics for a Western readership. His ghost stories, which were drawn from Japanese folklore and influenced by Buddhist beliefs, appeared in collections throughout the 1890s and 1900s. He is a much celebrated figure in Japan. View titles by Various