Kesey arrives at Borders to take '60s fans "Furthur"

Once upon a time, in the mid-1950s, a straight-laced young writer named Ken Kesey was recruited by the psychology department at his college to participate in various experiments with hallucinogenic drugs, including LSD. The next thing anyone knew, the '60s occurred, decadence was the rage, Ken was a leader in the mind-expansion drug movement, and the rest - as they say - is history.

PREVIEW
	Ken Kesey Thursday, 4-7 p.m. Borders

Kesey became well-known in the '60s for his substance-laced parties, associations with Timothy Leary and Neal Cassady, and authorship of the revolutionary novel, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," published in 1962. Along with his throng of Bohemian friends, the self-proclaimed Merry Pranksters, Kesey toured the country in a repainted schoolbus named "Furthur," promoting his psychedelic philosophy. After the movement began to wane, Kesey retired to the woods of Oregon to raise his family, and Furthur retired too.

However, the spirit of the '60s hasn't completely died, and Kesey is on the road again. This time, he and the Merry Pranksters are touring the country in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Summer of Love and the opening of a new exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland. The exhibit is entitled "I Want To Take You Higher: The Psychedelic Era 1965-1969" and will feature all sorts of memorabilia to commemorate the decade. Kesey dragged Furthur - which will be on display next to Janis Joplin's Porsche - from his Oregon barn for the Midwest-spanning "Grand-furthur Tour 1997," ending in Cleveland just in time for the opening of the exhibit on May 10.

On the way, Kesey and more than a dozen of the Pranksters will stop in Ann Arbor at Borders for some signature rabble-rousing. On May 8, the bus will be parked outside Borders while Kesey chats with the crowd, signs copies of the museum's "I Want To Take You Higher" exhibit book, and gives away prizes in accordance with WIQB/WQKL FM. Kesey didn't write the book; it's authored by Charles Perry, a former Rolling Stone journalist who, amazingly enough, actually remembers the '60s. Kesey will be signing the pages that depict himself and Furthur in glorious psychedelic color.

Even in his golden years, Kesey is not inert. He recently completed "Twister," an interactive play that he co-wrote with the Merry Pranksters and hopes to soon produce. He's published several novels and magazine articles, including a tribute to Timothy Leary in Time magazine. During the course of the Grandfurthur Tour, Kesey has been online, recording details of the journey via daily updates on the Internet.

Be prepared for a real trip back in time when Kesey and his Pranksters pull up to Borders on Thursday. The Grandfurthur Tour is ample evidence that old hippies never die - they just keep on truckin.'

05-07-97