Kenneth Elton Kesey (Sep 17, 1935 – Nov 10, 2001) was an American novelist, essayist, and countercultural figure. He considered himself a link between The Beat Generation of the 1950s and The hippies of the 1960s. He began writing One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1960 following the completion of a graduate fellowship in creative writing at Stanford University; the novel was an immediate commercial and critical success when published two years later. His second novel, Sometimes a Great Notion, followed in 1964. His other books include Kesey's Garage Sale, Demon Box, Caverns , The Further Inquiry, Sailor Song and Last Go Round. His two children's books are Little Tricker the Squirrel Meets Big Double the Bear and The Sea Lion. Less