UVa Library Press Releases 1997 - 1998
KEN KESEY - HIPPIE, AUTHOR, NONCONFORMIST - TO SPEAK AT U.VA.
Contact: Jeanne Hammer, director of Development at (804) 924-3246 or e-mail: jmh@virginia.edu
April 16, 1998 -- Ken Kesey, counterculture hero and celebrated author of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," will speak at the University of Virginia on Sunday, April 26, in connection with a University Library cultural exhibit on the decade of the 1960s.
Kesey's talk will be held at 3:30 p.m. in the Wilson Hall Auditorium, room 402,
with a simultaneous video feed to room 301. The 321 seats in the auditorium are
already booked, but 170 seats in room 301 will be available on a first-come, first-served
basis.
With the commercial success of his first book, "One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest," Kesey financed the adventures of a group of friends, who called themselves the Merry Pranksters. The group's antics presaged the hippie movement that swept the United States in the late 60s. Kesey and his band wore outrageous attire, performed bizarre acts of street theater and peacefully confronted the laws of conformity.
The Associates of the University of Virginia Library and Alderman Library are sponsoring Kesey's talk in connection with the library exhibit, "The Psychedelic '60s: Literary Traditions and Social Change," organized by library assistant George Riser. Colorful, tie-dyed cloth hangs from the ceiling and '60s tunes waft through the air of the exhibit room as viewers explore the literature, pop art, and newspaper headlines of a decade of social and political upheaval.
The exhibit runs from April 1 through September 14. For more information, call Jeanne Hammer at (804) 924-3246. Television reporters should call the University's TV News Office at (804) 924-7550.
Source: U.Va. News Services
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