Trystan Casey
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is a non-fiction book by American writer Tom Wolfe, published in 1968. It is considered a classic of the 1960s counterculture and one of the most notable works of New Journalism. The book follows Ken Kesey and his band of Merry Pranksters as they go on a Transcontinental Bus Tour from the West Coast to New York, introducing hundreds to LSD, staging jam sessions, and meeting revolutionary figures. Wolfe's book offers an immersive, subjective account of Kesey's movement, and his descriptions of the group's adventures influenced the cultural perception of the figures and events in the book.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Author | Tom Wolfe |
| Subject | Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters |
| Genre | New Journalism |
| Style | Literary "gateway drug", "hallucination of a book", "verbal Pop art painting" |
| Impact | Influenced the cultural perception of the figures and events in the book, ushered in an era of New Journalism |
| Reception | Modest literary acclaim, criticism for stylistic representations of counterculture and drug use |
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What You'll Learn
Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters
In 1964, Ken Kesey and 13 Merry Pranksters, including Neal Cassady, Cathy Casamo, and Ken Babbs, embarked on a trip from the West Coast to New York City in a psychedelically painted school bus called "Furthur". The trip was fuelled by LSD, amphetamines, and marijuana, and the group introduced these drugs to hundreds of like-minded people along the way. The Merry Pranksters also organised parties and met many influential figures of the 1960s cultural movement, including the Hells Angels, to whom Kesey introduced LSD.
The Merry Pranksters are noted for the sociological significance of this road trip, during which they wore tie-dye and red, white, and blue clothing, renounced normal society, and engaged in spontaneous behaviour. They also developed a sense of communal consciousness, where everyone shared their thoughts and feelings directly, leading to a sense of thinking the same things at the same time.
The group's activities, including their cross-country trip and their relationship with the Hells Angels, were documented by Tom Wolfe in his 1968 book "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test". This book is considered a seminal work on the hippie culture and the roots of the movement. Wolfe's descriptions of Kesey and the Pranksters were influential in shaping the cultural perception of the group, and he portrayed their experiences as triggered by paranoia and their acid trips.
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The Transcontinental Bus Tour
The Pranksters staged impromptu jam sessions, dodged the FBI, and met some of the most revolutionary figures of the day. They also held "Acid Tests", where LSD was served diluted in Kool-Aid, with music provided by the Grateful Dead. These events were modelled on a previous party the Pranksters had held with the Hells Angels motorcycle gang. The first Acid Test took place at the home of Kesey's friend Ken Babbs in Santa Cruz, and the next in a house in San Jose after a Rolling Stones concert.
The Pranksters' message and their communal consciousness developed at La Honda, where Kesey commanded that everything be brought "out front". This meant that if you were angry, desired, or hated someone, you said so directly. This led to a sense that everyone was thinking the same things at the same time.
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, a book by Tom Wolfe, documented the Transcontinental Bus Tour. It has been described as a masterpiece and a "gateway drug", introducing readers to a new way of looking at and writing about the world. Wolfe aimed to "re-create the mental atmosphere or subjective reality" of life with the Merry Pranksters. His style has been described as New Journalism, blurring the boundaries between fiction and journalistic reporting.
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Kesey's arrest and escape to Mexico
Ken Kesey, the American novelist, essayist and countercultural figure, was arrested for marijuana possession in 1965. He faked suicide and fled to Mexico to avoid imprisonment. Kesey hid in Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlán, and had several escapes from undercover agents. He eventually ended up in Manzanillo, a jungle outpost and nowhere port town on Mexico's Pacific coast.
In Manzanillo, Kesey was joined by his wife, Faye, their young children, and a group of "Merry Pranksters", including Mountain Girl (Carolyn Adams), Ken Babbs, Mike Hagen, Gretchen Fetchin the Slime Queen, and Beat legend Neal Cassady, who drove the Pranksters' bus, Furthur. The group stayed in a rented house on the beach, while the others hung their hammocks in an abandoned pet food factory, which they called La Casa Purina.
The Pranksters struggled in Mexico and were unable to obtain the same results from their acid trips. Kesey and some of the Pranksters eventually returned to the United States, where he was arrested and conditionally released. He convinced the judge that the next step of his movement was an "Acid Test Graduation", an event in which the Pranksters and other followers would attempt to achieve intersubjectivity without the use of mind-altering drugs.
After his release, Kesey returned to his home in the Willamette Valley and settled in Pleasant Hill, Oregon, where he maintained a secluded, family-oriented lifestyle for the rest of his life. He continued to contribute fiction and reportage to publications such as Esquire, Rolling Stone, and Oui, and taught at the University of Oregon.
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The Acid Tests
The first Acid Test was held on 27 November 1965 at Ken Babbs' house in Soquel, California, although Babbs recalls it as being on Halloween night. The Grateful Dead, then known as the Warlocks, played at this first Test, and continued to be involved in subsequent Tests. The Tests also featured black lights, strobe lights, fluorescent paint, and various art performances.
The Tests were not without criticism, however. Ken Kesey was offered the chance by a judge to curb the use of LSD, but he was left powerless to alter the movement he had helped start. Despite this, the influence of the Acid Tests continued to ripple through American culture and counterculture, with the Grateful Dead song "A Song for All Seasons" mentioning the Tests.
Tom Wolfe's book, "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test", brought the Tests to a wider audience and is considered a seminal work on the hippie culture and the New Journalism literary style.
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Tom Wolfe's New Journalism
Tom Wolfe's The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is considered one of the most essential works on the 1960s counterculture and is credited with ushering in an era of New Journalism. This literary style elicited fascination and incredulity from its audience. While The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test was not the original standard for New Journalism, it is the most frequently cited work of that genre.
Wolfe's New Journalism style invites the reader to view the work as subjective rather than traditional objective reportage. Wolfe's work received modest literary acclaim, particularly for the clear narrative he maintained amidst the indulgent and often intoxicated milieu depicted. Despite his immersion within Ken Kesey's movement and advocacy of Kesey's and the Merry Pranksters' ideology, Wolfe renders sober portrayals of their experiences as being triggered by paranoia and the acid trips that had become the group's cultural motif.
Wolfe's New Journalism is characterised by four main techniques. Firstly, scene-by-scene construction, where the journalist must witness events first-hand and recreate them for the reader, rather than relying on second-hand accounts and background information. Secondly, dialogue, where the journalist records dialogue as fully as possible, defining and establishing character, as well as involving the reader. Thirdly, the third person, where the journalist gives the reader a real feeling of the events and people involved, treating the protagonists like characters in a novel. Finally, status details, where the surroundings and what people surround themselves with are just as important as the characters and events. Wolfe describes these items as the tools for a "social autopsy", allowing readers to see people as they see themselves.
Wolfe's New Journalism was not without its critics. Some challenged the believability of the style and questioned whether the accounts were true. Renata Adler, for example, accused Wolfe of making up facts and corrupting a style of first-person-inflected writing. She wrote, "The facts dissolved. The writer was everything."
Wolfe, however, stood by his style, arguing that it transformed the subjects of newspapers and articles into people with whom audiences could relate and sympathise.
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Frequently asked questions
Tom Wolfe wrote 'The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test', which was published in 1968.
The book is about Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters, a group who took LSD and kickstarted a revolution. It documents the rise and fall of the hippie movement and has been described as a "gateway drug" of a book.
The title refers to the practice of serving LSD diluted in Kool-Aid at "mixed-media happenings" or "Acid Tests", which were hosted by Kesey and the Merry Pranksters.
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