Last night in Eugene there was a fundraiser featuring several Oregon writers reading original works by Ken Kesey. Cecelia Hagen, Miriam Gershow, Paul Calandrino, Cai Emmons, Lauren Kessler, and Max Rayneard all read from original Kesey documents. The event was a fundraiser for the University of Oregon Library’s special collection department.
According to the University of Oregon library, “The Ken Kesey Collection contains irreplaceable typewritten manuscripts, artwork, collages, photographs, and correspondence, dating from 1960 to 2001. This rich archive is a resource for students and scholars interested not only in Ken Kesey and his writing but also in the literature and culture of the 1960s.”
Lisa Manotti, the Library’s Development Director, says the evening raised around 900 dollars, and added, “The Kesey family has not given us a specific deadline for purchasing the collection. We have a verbal agreement that they would like it to remain at the University of Oregon and we will do everything possible to raise the money. The collection was appraised at just under $3 million, so we have a ways to go.”
