Ken Kesey explores art of novel writing with students
By Cami Swanson
Emerald Reporter
Author Ken Kesey. best
known for his hook “One Flew
Over the Cuckoo's Nest," has
close ties to the University. A
t‘J57 graduate of the University,
his sons also attended school
here and w'restled for the Duck
team. It seems only natural that
Kesey now is teaching a
graduate novel writing class at
the University.
“I was turned on to writing at
the University of
Oregon. . there's no place else
that I really could have taught,"
Kesey said. "1 have been wan
ting to teach a class for a long
time. I lecture a lot but in a lec
ture you can spread on a lot of
thin manure. . I feel like I have
something to teach."
The class, made up of about
15 graduate students, meets in
formally at Kesey's house in
town twice a week to go over
ideas for a novel they are work
ing on collectively. However,
the subject of the novel is
something they are reluctant to
discuss.
"(Kesev) asked us not to talk
too much about the subject mat
ter," graduate student )im
Finley explained. "Let's say an
author was working on a novel
— You don't want a lot of
publicity about the material
beforehand, to cut down on the
strange speculation (about the
book)."
Kesey plans to take his
students through the entire pro
cess of writing, editing and
publishing a single novel dur
ing the class, which will last
three terms.
Kesey said the major
drawback of other writing
schools is that they take their
students to the point of writing
a novel, but don't extend any
further into the procedures on
having a work published.
"I'm going to do this till it's
finished Otherwise, you've got
something stinking in the kit
chen.” Kesey said.
Kesey majored in radio and
television when he attended the
University, but still was in
terested in writing. His satirical
column, "Gulliver's Trifles."
was carried by the Oregon Daily
Emerald in 1955 and 1956 His
first literary work was publish
ed by the Northwest Review.
He said that bis eyes first
were opened to serious
literature one day in class while
he was reading Ernest Hemm
ingway's short story. "Soldier's
Home."
"(My professor) said all of
this stuff really means more
than it seems, and suddenly the
whole idea of literature, serious
literature, opened up for me,”
he said.
" being an old magician. I
wanted to get into that and
know how to produce those ef
fects . Writing is an
alchemical business. All kinds
of tricks go into it that the
public never knows about," he
added.
Findley describes kesey as
Iming thoughtful, insightful and
friendly. When asked how to
describe himself as a student,
kesey replied with a smile. "I
was a Bela,*' as if that explained
it all
"At that time, betas could not
only drink more, but they got
batter grades. Animal House
was filmed here, and it did
everybody a real misservice
because it made it seem like get
ting drunk was what it was
about But we got drunk and
always finished in the top three
living organizations of cam
pus." he said.
Compared to the University
during the time he went to
school. Kesey said that today's
students are more socially con
scious and worldly.
"In the 50's, we wouldn't
have understood what divest
would mean." he said.
However, Kesey. a out
doorsman who owns a farm in
Pleasant Hill, regrets that pro
gress and increased enrollment
has made it necessary for the
University to construct
buildings like PLC. which he
compares to a tombstone in
front of a beautiful statue.
Kesey's future plans include
working on a rodeo novel and
on video novels, which he
described as being "like soap
operas only it would be serious
fiction." He has been contacted
by HBO to work on such a video
essay.
Phutu by Aa4rt K«m«n
Ken kesey's final is In have hit University class complete a novel within the ne\t three terms.
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