My Odyssey Through the Underground Press

Description

In 1963, Michigan State University, the nation’s first land grant college, attracted a record number of National Merit Scholars by offering competitive scholarships. One of these exceptional students was Michael Kindman. After the beginning of the Free Speech Movement in Berkeley, Kindman, in line to be editor-in-chief of the official MSU student newspaper, felt compelled to seek a more radical forum of intellectual debate. In 1965, he dropped out of school and founded The Paper, one of the first five members of Underground Press Syndicate. This gripping autobiography follows Kindman’s inspiring journey of self-discovery, from MSU to Boston, where he joined the staff of Avatar, unaware that the large commune that controlled the paper was a charismatic cult. Five years later, he fled the commune’s outpost in Kansas and headed to San Francisco, where he came out as a gay man, changed his name to Mica, and continued his work as an activist and visionary. Contents Foreword by Paul Krassner Foreword by Tommi Avicolli Mecca Editor’s Introduction Chapter 1: Going to College—But Not for Long Chapter 2: Ambassador from Somewhere Else Chapter 3: And Now, Something Completely Different Chapter 4: Moving to the Future Chapter 5: Settling In Chapter 6: Two Different Worlds Chapter 7: Time to Get a Life Chapter 8: A Purpose Finds Me Chapter 9: A Simple Man Chapter 10: Christ, You Know It Ain’t Easy Chapter 11: Superstars Chapter 12: Another Visit from the Karma Squad Chapter 13: The Colonial Era Begins in Earnest Chapter 14: Send Out a Lifeline Chapter 15: Hit the Road Again, Jack Chapter 16: What Next? Chapter 17: There’s a Place in the Sun Chapter 18: A New Movement, A New Paper Chapter 19: Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are Chapter 20: Looking Back, Looking Forward Afterword: Michael “Mica” Kindman’s Last Years Index