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interviewer. The class soon developed a third rule: there could be no writing outside of class. All work was to be done collaboratively, to help prevent the novel from developing 13 different prose styles. Kesey described his role in the process as quarterback of a football team. The class successfully completed the book, which was published in
December 1989.
157:. The cover of the book says it was written by O.U. Levon—the name of this supposed author, spelled backwards, is "novel U.O." (University of Oregon). The full list of authors is: Robert Blucher, Ben Bochner, James Finley, Jeff Forester, Bennett Huffman, Lynn Jeffress, Ken Kesey, Neil Lidstrom, H. Highwater Powers, Jane Sather, Charles Varani, Meredith Wadley,
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Kesey laid forth two rules: first, the students could not discuss the plot of the novel with anyone outside of the class; second, for voting purposes Kesey comprised 50 percent of the class, a controlling majority to prevent the class getting "drawn into a lot of democratic discussion", as he told an
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Because of Kesey's attachment to the project, the book was widely reviewed in newspapers and magazines. Critics were generally intrigued by the book but ultimately critical of its shortcomings: noting in particular the lack of a coherent voice and a too-large cast of characters. Writing in the
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The rest of the novel appropriates Loach as its central character. Set in the 1930s, Loach is imagined as a convicted murderer (he killed a photographer to protect the secret of the cave) who is released from
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The work of Kesey and his class departed from previous composite novels by having the thirteen class members and Kesey collaboratively write each sentence. Of the methodology, Alfred
Bendixen wrote in
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The characters spend most of the novel together in a military vehicle making their way to Utah where Loach says the cave is located, and getting caught in various comic misadventures along the way.
201:
story on
October 31, 1964, entitled "Charles Oswald Loach, Doctor of Theosophy and discoverer of so-called 'SECRET CAVE OF AMERICAN ANCIENTS,' which stirred archaeological controversy in 1928."
316:
is an amusing lark, full of weird characters and goofy plot twists. It was a sufficiently intriguing project to make The
Mainstream Media swarm around Kesey again. But no one is calling
228:—features a motley crew of characters: Father Paul, an unbalanced priest; an archaeologist, Dr. Jocelyn Crane; Loach's brother, a museum curator; publisher Rodney Makai and the "
177:. Kesey decided the best way to teach the course would be for the class of 13 graduate students to actually produce a novel when they assembled, twice a week, at Kesey's home.
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also reminds us - sometimes painfully - that the novel requires an individual voice, fully realized characters and a clear sense of time and place."
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that "The book shows that a group of apprentice writers can collaborate and produce a highly readable tale in a relatively short period of time. But
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icon, by the 1980s Kesey's writing output had slowed significantly. In 1988–89 he agreed to spend a year teaching a creative writing class at the
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Makai sisters"; their
African-American driver, Ned; and Juke and Boyle, World War I veterans still suffering the ill effects of
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with five other authors about three mismatched couples searching for their proper mates. A dozen authors, including
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Knox-Quinn, Carolyn. "Collaboration in the
Writing Classroom: An Interview with Ken Kesey".
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According to Kesey's "Introduction," the novel was inspired by an actual news clipping, an
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402:"Lidia Yuknavitch is O.U. Levon: Remembering the Caverns Crew and Ken Kesey's Kindness"
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Sipchen, Bob. "Kesey & Co.; The
Gregarious Author Is Back in the Spotlight."
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is a 1989 novel written collaboratively as an experiment by
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Collaborative novel by Ken Kesey and creative writing class
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that she was not actually a graduate student at the time.
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373:(January 21, 1990). Retrieved on February 25, 2008.
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153:and a creative writing class that he taught at the
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332:"Ken Kesey's Eclectic Writing Acid Test"
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257:Six of One by Half a Dozen of the Other
424:College Composition and Communication
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247:The idea of the composite novel or
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330:Weddle, David (October 5, 1989).
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404:. Theodore Carter. July 28, 2014
656:The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
572:One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
556:One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
505:One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1:
269:Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman
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833:Fiction set in the 1930s
564:Sometimes a Great Notion
513:Sometimes a Great Notion
280:Naked Came the Stranger
212:The novel—described by
183:The Chronology of Water
312:, Bob Sipchen noted, "
271:collaborated to write
251:was not new. In 1872
253:Harriet Beecher Stowe
249:collaborative fiction
59:Collaborative fiction
828:Collaborative novels
818:1989 American novels
624:The Merry Pranksters
452:(December 24, 1989).
391:(February 11, 1990).
363:Bendixen, Alfred. "
265:William Dean Howells
225:The Canterbury Tales
175:University of Oregon
155:University of Oregon
138:PS3562.E924 C38 1990
591:Kesey's Garage Sale
365:There Goes The Cave
161:and Ken Zimmerman.
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823:Works by Ken Kesey
370:The New York Times
301:Critical reception
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529:Sailor Song
261:Henry James
234:mustard gas
230:Blavatskian
812:Categories
722:Wavy Gravy
663:Magic Trip
639:Acid Tests
346:References
165:Background
126:813/.54 20
783:Memorials
717:Del Close
692:Ken Babbs
599:Demon Box
490:Ken Kesey
151:Ken Kesey
65:Publisher
41:Ken Kesey
113:20131987
47:Language
20:Caverns
773:Twister
633:Furthur
521:Caverns
318:Caverns
314:Caverns
295:Caverns
146:Caverns
50:English
602:(1986)
594:(1973)
575:(1975)
567:(1971)
559:(1963)
540:(1994)
532:(1992)
524:(1989)
516:(1964)
508:(1962)
497:Novels
222:meets
37:Author
765:Plays
55:Genre
410:2015
367:".
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107:OCLC
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80:1989
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
