Story & Photos by Jenna Westover
Written forty-nine years ago while the author served in Vietnam, Who Shot the Water Buffalo? was the star of a free reading at the Knight Library on Thursday, April 7. Author and former US Marine Captain Ken Babbs read from his book and shared his memories of the UO during the days of friend and celebrated Eugenian Ken Kesey.
The night began with fellow author Ed McClanahan reading an essay jokingly entitled, Yay! Rah-rah! Babbs!. McClanahan, tie-dye clad and gray-haired, shared his memories of living in California with Babbs as well as his overwhelmingly positive thoughts on Who Shot the Water Buffalo?. The piece was frequently littered with McClanahan’s dirty jokes, which the crowd greeted with laughter and applause.
As McClanahan bared his crooked teeth in prolonged smiles, it was evident that he genuinely admired and respected Babbs for finally publishing the novel. Babbs and McClanahan were both among Ken Kesey’s Merry Pranksters, a group of people who admired the author and often lived communally in both California and Oregon.
Babbs took the mic and howled about his experiences as a USMC helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War. His delivery was poetic, crude, loud, unapologetic. He discussed the longing for women, the power of brotherhood, the horrors of war, the beauty of Vietnam.
“I wrote the novel in 1962,” Babbs said, “and did it all by typewriter in the dead of night while the other Marines slept.” Fellow author Tom Wolfe’s The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test would later refer to the book that Babbs wrote so diligently as a manuscript that Babbs yanked out of a box back in California and gave to Kesey as a gift.
“Thank god I got the manuscript back,” Babbs said, “because the memories were scattered. I relied on my tent-mate, Bob, to keep me filled in before receiving the manuscript. I thought I lost it while moving.”
Old friend of Babbs, Erin Schuelke agreed with what Wolfe said about the new book: “[It’s] the most famous unpublished novel in America.” She then added, “We must carry along the spirit of Ken Kesey in an unselfish and respectful way to make the late greats proud.”
After the reading, Babbs showed the audience a slideshow of photographs from his experience in Vietnam. The images consisted of Babbs naked and sitting in a tub, portable showers, and kerosene heaters at the mess hall. They provoked a great deal of both silence and laughter.
The crowd, which consisted of people of varying ages, gave Babbs a standing ovation for his readings and photographs. Friends, family, and fellow Marines gave him hugs and back-slaps, compliments and thanks. UO freshman Josie Rhoda commented that his reading was “poetic” and that the “energy of the time was entirely embedded in the delivery.” She went on, “It was quite a feeling to see the crowd of his time make comments, laugh, and joke about their memories.”
 
 
 

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Friend of Ken Kesey’s Discusses New Book