But the Kerouac-Kesey encounter carried a message: Ken Kesey was not a part of the Beat Generation. Thanks to a CIA-funded drug experiment at a veterans hospital, which had introduced Kesey to psychedelic drugs, Kesey instead sparked the Psychedelic Revolution, which spawned the hippie movement. Kesey brought LSD to people’s awareness, and he and the Merry Pranksters spoke of its mind-expanding, life-enhancing properties.

Kerouac was of course not a part of that revolution. What I realized was that he was deeply committed to writing. Kesey was just as deeply committed to living and experiencing the lives of others; writing for him was just a part of living.

The Beats and the Pranksters showed us different ways of opting out of society. They were both countercultural movements. The Beats were trying to change literature, and the Pranksters were trying to change the people and the country. After Sometimes a Great Notion was published in 1964 and Kesey moved into the next chapters of his life, he often said, when anyone asked him what he was doing, “Our job is nothing less than saving the world.” And, “The only true currency is that of the spirit.”

-Sterling Lord, When Kerouac Met Kesey (The American Scholar Autumn 2011)

Truly excellent article about Kesey and Kerouac.

e.w.

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