Kesey, Leary, and the Acid Gurus

Prior to music's heavy connection to LSD, literature was the most popular art form associated with the use of acid. Authors like Ken Kesey, Timothy Leary, Allen Ginsberg, Aldous Huxley, as well as others presented LSD and psychedelic drugs as a mind expanding spiritual experience. Both Kesey and Leary earned their reputation from their involvement with psychedelia.

Ken Kesey authored One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest which became a classic piece of psychedelic literature. Kesey was also involved in the CIA run Project MKULTRA. This project is discussed further on the legal history page. Kesey helped develop an acid culture that extended beyond academics and whacky CIA experiments. His role in organizing the Acid Test parties of the early sixties was instrumental in linking the psychedelic movement to music.

Timothy Leary was perhaps the psychedelia's most educated figure. Leary was a professor of psychology at Harvard. He had extensive experience with psychedelic experimentation. From 1960-1963 Leary used LSD and Psilocybin in several experiments which garnered criticism for his poor ethics and problematic methods. His experiments netted him strong criticism which resulted in him getting fired from his position. Leary was partly responsible for the harsh crackdown on psychedelic drugs. This man was one of the most dynamic characters associated with psychedelia.

These two figures are perhaps the most well known among the early psychedelic movement. They developed the cultural environment that enabled the popularity and synthesis of music and psychedelic culture. Their influence was so powerful that these figures often crossed paths and appeared at psychedelic shows and cultural events. Both of these figures were well known to the Grateful Dead and played a central role in the psychedelic revolution of the countercultural movement.