KESEY, Ken
Kesey's Garage Sale

(NY), (Viking), (1973). The scarce hardcover issue of this collection of shorter pieces, spanning the years of the Sixties, when Kesey's activities moved far from the strictly literary path he had been on when he wrote his first two novels. Elaborately signed by the author ("Kesey" only) on the front flyleaf in what appears to be black and white acrylic paint, practically sculpted onto the page, and covering most of the sheet. This was the first book Kesey published after Sometimes a Great Notion, almost a decade earlier. According to the author, the pieces were not conceived as a book but instead were drawn from various sources and put together, much as the title suggests, like the items in a garage sale -- thrown out to the reader for inspection, perusal, consideration. Between the publication of the two books, Kesey had led the Merry Pranksters on their famous bus trip, become a counterculture hero and advocate, and been a fugitive from the law, spending time in Mexico as a result of a drug bust. Other contributors to this volume include Allen Ginsberg, Neal Cassady, Ken Babbs and Paul Krassner, among others. Introduction by playwright Arthur Miller. Heavily illustrated with sketches by Kesey, photographs, etc. A fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with a 2" edge tear at the lower rear panel. [#027635] SOLD

All books are first printings of first editions or first American editions unless otherwise noted.

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