Primary Sources

Oregon Daily Emerald, digitized run (University of Oregon student newspaper)

Ken Kesey

Historic Oregon Newspapers (University of Oregon)

Kesey is listed as an Emerald columnist in a 1956 yearbook entry (per a search snippet). Search the run for “Kesey”; coverage of his Eugene years is plausible but not individually confirmed here.

Neal Cassady: The Joan Anderson Letter (surviving text)

Neal Cassady

International Times

Cassady’s letter to Kerouac that influenced On the Road; the surviving portion is also in Collected Letters, 1944–1967.

“Love to you, anyhow” — Cassady’s Joan Anderson Letter

Neal Cassady

Emory University — Dream Machine blog

Cites the Jack Kerouac Collection at Emory; check the finding aid for what the library holds. Page could not be read by our checker (bot wall or script-rendered); known from a search listing.

Researcher finds first recording of Ginsberg’s “Howl” (Reed College, 1956)

Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder

History News Network (Reed College tape)

Account of the 35-minute reel from Ginsberg and Snyder’s February 1956 Reed visit — the earliest known recording of Ginsberg reading “Howl.” The article is secondary; the tape is held at Reed.

Poetry reading by Allen Ginsberg and Gary Snyder, Reed College, 1956

Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder

Reed College Special Collections & Archives

Archive description of a 1956 tape. Poems read include “Howl,” which begins about 17:05 into track 1; Ginsberg breaks off partway through part II. Reed Magazine reported in January 2021 that the recording was to be released commercially by Omnivore Recordings. This is a description, not the audio.

Drive Five — Neal Cassady tapes, Fall 1965 (transcribed text)

Neal Cassady

New York Public Library — Research Catalog (Berg Collection)

Catalog record: the soundtrack was taken from tapes Cassady made in fall 1965; the Berg Collection holds the transcribed text. Page could not be read by our checker; known from a search listing.

The Motorcycle Gangs: Losers and Outsiders (reprint of the 1965 Nation article)

Hunter S. Thompson

Encyclopedia.com (reprint of The Nation, May 17, 1965)

The article that grew into Hell’s Angels (1966). Reprint, so check wording against the original issue.

Berkeley Barb digital archive (Aug 1965 – Apr 1980)

Counterculture press

Berkeley Public Library

Scanned issues of the underground paper that mixed radical politics with psychedelic art; search for Kesey, Acid Tests, the Be-In.

Trips Festival program, Longshoremen’s Hall, Jan 21–23, 1966

Stewart Brand

New York Public Library — Research Catalog

Catalog record: Stewart Brand credited as author; printed by Bob Carr and Wes Wilson. Access restricted — permission needed from the holding division. Page could not be read by our checker (bot wall or script-rendered); known from a search listing.

Trips Festival handbill, Longshoremen’s Hall, 1966 (poster dealer listing)

Merry Pranksters

Wolfgang’s Vault (commercial)

Commercial listing with a reproduction; useful for the artwork, not an archive.

Dress the way you are — Trips, Longshoremen’s Hall, April 22–24 [1966] (poster)

Grateful Dead, Merry Pranksters

Grateful Dead Archive Online (UC Santa Cruz)

Digitized poster; the UCSC reprint-collection finding aid says GDAO holds images of these posters.

Ken “Cuckoo Nest” Kesey: One Who Wigged Out

Ken Kesey

The Village Voice (archive)

Contemporary report on his disappearance and the Telegraph Hill arrest with Mountain Girl.

Ken Kesey press conference in Redwood City (KRON-TV film)

Ken Kesey

San Francisco State University — DIVA

Filmed at the San Mateo County Courthouse, reporter Art Brown.

Grateful Dead live at Winterland Arena, 1966-10-31 (Acid Test Graduation)

Grateful Dead, Merry Pranksters

Grateful Dead Archive Online (UC Santa Cruz)

Recording of the Acid Test “graduation” event.

Revolution (San Francisco documentary, 1968)

Haight-Ashbury scene

Internet Archive (community upload)

A period film of the San Francisco scene, directed by Jack O’Connell. Community upload; rights unclear.

San Francisco Oracle, no. 12 (1968)

Allen Cohen

Letterform Archive (via the Internet Archive)

Issue 12 of the Haight-Ashbury underground newspaper, digitized by the Letterform Archive and shared on the Internet Archive. The item is stream-only. This is the periodical itself, not commentary on it.

Woodstock, 1969 (John Dominis photographs for LIFE)

Woodstock

Briscoe Center for American History, UT Austin

One of a set of John Dominis photographs for LIFE’s 1969 coverage. The site shows a bot check to automated visitors, so our checker could not open it; known from a search listing.

“The Family Dogs Presents” (Creem, 1969)

Chet Helms

Creem magazine archive

Period magazine piece in which the writer talks with Chet Helms of the Family Dog about the San Francisco scene as it was about five years earlier, “before the Haight flowered and the Avalon bloomed” (the archive’s summary). The month comes from the archive’s address, which dates the article October 1, 1969.

L.S.D.: The Beyond Within (BBC documentary, community upload)

Ken Kesey, Timothy Leary, Albert Hofmann

Internet Archive (community upload)

Cited on Wikiquote as the source of a Kesey quotation. Date from that citation, not the Archive record; rights unclear — it is a link, not an endorsement.

Bob Dylan & the Grateful Dead, Eugene, Oregon, 1987 (KLCC broadcast recording)

Bob Dylan, Grateful Dead

Internet Archive (radio-broadcast archive)

A concert recording from a Eugene show, via a KLCC broadcast; community upload.

Further Inquiry (Kirkus review)

Ken Kesey

Kirkus Reviews

Listing for the book, photographed by Ron Bevirt and Kesey; release date Oct. 1, 1990.

Author Ken Kesey, icon of the 1960s drug culture, dies

Ken Kesey

The Seattle Times (archive)

Date taken from the archive URL.

Furthur gets new lease on life

Furthur (the bus) · interviewed by Jeff Barnard (Associated Press)

The Spokesman-Review (AP)

Source for the account that Roy Sebern painted “Furthur” as a one-word poem and learned later it was misspelled.

Living Color, Living Sound (Washington Rainbow Gathering documentary)

Rainbow Family

Internet Archive (community upload)

A documentary by StarLynn Jacobs of a 2011 Rainbow Gathering (a recent, secondary view of a long-running tradition).

Oregon buys Ken Kesey’s personal papers for $1.4M

Ken Kesey

KVAL

University of Oregon’s 2013 purchase of the Kesey papers.

On the road with Kesey’s drug-free Acid Test

Zane Kesey

The Daily Beast

Year inferred from coverage of the 50th-anniversary trip; describes a second bus, “Further” with an e, bought by Ken Kesey in 1974.

Fleeing marijuana charges, Ken Kesey hid from the FBI — his FBI file

Ken Kesey

MuckRock

Covers the Bureau’s 1966 pursuit of Kesey after he fled to Mexico; the released file is embedded or linked on the page. Date shown is the MuckRock post. Page could not be read by our checker (bot wall or script-rendered); known from a search listing.

“50 years of Fair” (Eugene Weekly, 2019)

Suzi Prozanski

Eugene Weekly

By Suzi Prozanski for the Oregon Country Fair’s 50th anniversary. Says the Fair began as a small crafts fair organized by parents and teachers to raise money for an alternative school, Children’s House. The lead photo is credited to the Fair’s archives.

We Are As Gods (documentary on Stewart Brand and the Whole Earth Catalog)

Stewart Brand

Internet Archive

A documentary by Jason Sussberg and David Alvarado — secondary, not period material; the Archive lists 2021-03-27 as its upload date.

The Rolling Stones, Hell’s Angels and Altamont: A New View (Library of Congress, 2022)

The Rolling Stones, Hells Angels

Library of Congress (Timeless blog)

Guest post by Mike Mashon, head of the Library’s Moving Image Section, about a never-before-seen home movie of the December 6, 1969 Altamont Free Concert, held at the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center. The post describes the footage; it is a description by the holder, not the film itself.

After almost six decades on the farm, Ken Kesey’s Furthur bus leaves Oregon

Furthur (the bus), Zane Kesey

Lookout Eugene-Springfield

Reports the bus leaving the Pleasant Hill farm for San Francisco; includes Kesey’s “only one bus” line.

Grateful Dead exhibit featuring Ken Kesey’s Furthur bus opens Saturday in SF

Furthur (the bus)

SFist

Ken Kesey & The Merry Pranksters (The Sixties Project exhibit)

Ken Kesey, Merry Pranksters

University of Virginia Library

Exhibit with period material including pages on the bus and the Further Inquiry.

Bloodied Ken Kesey press conference (KRON-TV film)

Ken Kesey

San Francisco State University — DIVA

“First Party at Ken Kesey’s with Hell’s Angels” (poem)

Allen Ginsberg

AllenGinsberg.org

Ginsberg’s own account of the La Honda party.

Furthur Down the Road Foundation — FAQ (spelling of the bus name)

Furthur (the bus)

Furthur Down the Road Foundation

States both spellings are “correct”; the Foundation settled on “Furthur” for practical reasons.

The Diggers Papers No. 33: “What is the Diggers?”

The Diggers

Arthur Magazine (scans of Digger documents)

One of a numbered series of scanned Digger/Communication Company documents from roughly late 1966–1967; check the page for the document’s own date.

One flew over the cuckoo's nest (2006 London : Penguin Books edition, Internet Archive copy)

Ken Kesey

Internet Archive (Open Library lending copy)

Digitized copy of the 2006 London : Penguin Books edition in the Internet Archive’s lending library: the work itself, not commentary on it. The item is marked lending-restricted, so reading may need a free account and a loan. The date is left blank because it is the edition, not the work’s first publication.

Sometimes a great notion (1965 New York, Bantam Books edition, Internet Archive copy)

Ken Kesey

Internet Archive (Open Library lending copy)

Digitized copy of the 1965 New York, Bantam Books edition in the Internet Archive’s lending library: the work itself, not commentary on it. The item is marked lending-restricted, so reading may need a free account and a loan. The date is left blank because it is the edition, not the work’s first publication.

Demon box (1986 New York, N.Y., U.S.A. : Viking edition, Internet Archive copy)

Ken Kesey

Internet Archive (Open Library lending copy)

Digitized copy of the 1986 New York, N.Y., U.S.A. : Viking edition in the Internet Archive’s lending library: the work itself, not commentary on it. The item is marked lending-restricted, so reading may need a free account and a loan. The date is left blank because it is the edition, not the work’s first publication.

Last go round (1995 London : Black Swan edition, Internet Archive copy)

Ken Kesey

Internet Archive (Open Library lending copy)

Digitized copy of the 1995 London : Black Swan edition in the Internet Archive’s lending library: the work itself, not commentary on it. The item is marked lending-restricted, so reading may need a free account and a loan. The date is left blank because it is the edition, not the work’s first publication.

Kesey's garage sale (1973 New York, N.Y. : Viking Press edition, Internet Archive copy)

Ken Kesey

Internet Archive (Open Library lending copy)

Digitized copy of the 1973 New York, N.Y. : Viking Press edition in the Internet Archive’s lending library: the work itself, not commentary on it. The item is marked lending-restricted, so reading may need a free account and a loan. The date is left blank because it is the edition, not the work’s first publication.

The Dharma bums (1990 New York, N.Y., U.S.A. : Penguin Books edition, Internet Archive copy)

Jack Kerouac

Internet Archive (Open Library lending copy)

Digitized copy of the 1990 New York, N.Y., U.S.A. : Penguin Books edition in the Internet Archive’s lending library: the work itself, not commentary on it. The item is marked lending-restricted, so reading may need a free account and a loan. The date is left blank because it is the edition, not the work’s first publication.

Desolation Angels (2012 Penguin Press/Classics edition, Internet Archive copy)

Jack Kerouac

Internet Archive (Open Library lending copy)

Digitized copy of the 2012 Penguin Press/Classics edition in the Internet Archive’s lending library: the work itself, not commentary on it. The item is marked lending-restricted, so reading may need a free account and a loan. The date is left blank because it is the edition, not the work’s first publication.

A Coney Island of the mind, poems (1958 [New York] New Directions edition, Internet Archive copy)

Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Internet Archive (Open Library lending copy)

Digitized copy of the 1958 [New York] New Directions edition in the Internet Archive’s lending library: the work itself, not commentary on it. The item is marked lending-restricted, so reading may need a free account and a loan. The date is left blank because it is the edition, not the work’s first publication.

Slouching towards Bethlehem (1968 New York : Simon and Schuster edition, Internet Archive copy)

Joan Didion

Internet Archive (Open Library lending copy)

Digitized copy of the 1968 New York : Simon and Schuster edition in the Internet Archive’s lending library: the work itself, not commentary on it. The item is marked lending-restricted, so reading may need a free account and a loan. The date is left blank because it is the edition, not the work’s first publication.

The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell (Perennial Classics) (2004 Harper Perennial Modern Classics edition, Internet Archive copy)

Aldous Huxley

Internet Archive (Open Library lending copy)

Digitized copy of the 2004 Harper Perennial Modern Classics edition in the Internet Archive’s lending library: the work itself, not commentary on it. The item is marked lending-restricted, so reading may need a free account and a loan. The date is left blank because it is the edition, not the work’s first publication.

The teachings of Don Juan : a Yaqui way of knowledge (1974 Markham, Ont. : Simon & Schuster of Canada edition, Internet Archive copy)

Carlos Castaneda

Internet Archive (Open Library lending copy)

Digitized copy of the 1974 Markham, Ont. : Simon & Schuster of Canada edition in the Internet Archive’s lending library: the work itself, not commentary on it. The item is marked lending-restricted, so reading may need a free account and a loan. The date is left blank because it is the edition, not the work’s first publication.

Six sections from mountains and rivers without end (1967 Fulcrum Press edition, Internet Archive copy)

Gary Snyder

Internet Archive (Open Library lending copy)

Digitized copy of the 1967 Fulcrum Press edition in the Internet Archive’s lending library: the work itself, not commentary on it. The item is marked lending-restricted, so reading may need a free account and a loan. The date is left blank because it is the edition, not the work’s first publication.

Naked angels : Kerouac, Ginsberg, Burroughs (2006 Chicago : Ivan R. Dee edition, Internet Archive copy)

John Tytell

Internet Archive (Open Library lending copy)

Digitized copy of the 2006 Chicago : Ivan R. Dee edition in the Internet Archive’s lending library: the work itself, not commentary on it. The item is marked lending-restricted, so reading may need a free account and a loan. The date is left blank because it is the edition, not the work’s first publication.

The making of a counter culture; reflections on the technocratic society and its youthful opposition (1969 Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday edition, Internet Archive copy)

Theodore Roszak

Internet Archive (Open Library lending copy)

Digitized copy of the 1969 Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday edition in the Internet Archive’s lending library: the work itself, not commentary on it. The item is marked lending-restricted, so reading may need a free account and a loan. The date is left blank because it is the edition, not the work’s first publication.

Stranger in a strange land (1968 [New York] : Berkley edition, Internet Archive copy)

Robert A. Heinlein

Internet Archive (Open Library lending copy)

Digitized copy of the 1968 [New York] : Berkley edition in the Internet Archive’s lending library: the work itself, not commentary on it. The item is marked lending-restricted, so reading may need a free account and a loan. The date is left blank because it is the edition, not the work’s first publication.

The pump house gang (1968 New York : Farrar, Straus & Giroux edition, Internet Archive copy)

Tom Wolfe

Internet Archive (Open Library lending copy)

Digitized copy of the 1968 New York : Farrar, Straus & Giroux edition in the Internet Archive’s lending library: the work itself, not commentary on it. The item is marked lending-restricted, so reading may need a free account and a loan. The date is left blank because it is the edition, not the work’s first publication.

Trout fishing in America (1967 edition, Internet Archive copy)

Richard Brautigan

Internet Archive (Open Library lending copy)

Digitized copy of the 1967 edition in the Internet Archive’s lending library: the work itself, not commentary on it. The item is marked lending-restricted, so reading may need a free account and a loan. The date is left blank because it is the edition, not the work’s first publication.