Stephen Gaskin
Encyclopedia
Stephen Gaskin is a counterculture
hippie
icon
best known for his presence in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco in the 1960s and for co-founding "The Farm
", a famous spiritual intentional community
in Summertown, Tennessee
. He was a Green Party
presidential primary candidate in 2000 on a platform which included campaign finance reform, universal health care, and decriminalization of marijuana. He is the author of over a dozen books, a father, a grandfather, a teacher, a musician (drummer), a semantic rapper, a public speaker, a political activist, a philanthropic organizer, and a self-proclaimed professional hippie.
and served in the United States Marines from 1952 to 1955. In the 1960s, he moved to San Francisco and taught English, creative writing, and general semantics at San Francisco State College
, where he was a student of S. I. Hayakawa
. His writing class became an open discussion known as Monday Night Class, which involved up to 1500 students.
In 1970, Gaskin was part of a caravan of 60 vehicles that crossed the United States
to settle 60 miles south-west of Nashville, Tennessee
, forming a community called "The Farm", which the Wall Street Journal came to call "the General Motors of American Communes". This community was "a platform from which to launch efforts to improve the lot of poor and indigenous peoples, whales, and old growth trees" For example, raising 1,200 earthquake-resistant homes in Guatemala as well as several public buildings and water lines to 5 villages, sending independent dosimetry
teams after the Three Mile Island accident
and the Chernobyl disaster
, or giving the Rainbow Warrior
equipment to escape from a Spanish harbor.
He went to prison in 1974 for marijuana
possession, as members of the community had, against his recommendation, planted several marijuana plants on the property. He served one year of a three-year sentence. While in prison, a class action suit on his behalf returned voting rights to more than a quarter of a million convicts.
In Volume One: Sunday Morning Services on the Farm and earlier talks, Stephen Gaskin produced a substantial body of spiritual teaching. His ideas are now contained in books and tapes of the Sunday Morning Services which were published by the Book Publishing Company on The Farm. They speak of magic
, energy and life in community
as well as of service to humanity.
Gaskin was recipient of the first Right Livelihood Award (Alternative Nobel Prize) in 1980 and an inductee into the Counterculture Hall of Fame
in 2004. He was awarded the Golden Bolt Award by The Farm Motor Pool (for helping buy a lemon semi), and won the Guru-Off (without even entering), racking up 77 points to Krishnamurti’s 73.
Gaskin works as an international activist and speaker, and he continues to write. His topics range from advice on all aspects of communal life and farming to CB radio, the counter-culture, spirituality, drug law reform, and social and spiritual issues. He was a drummer in The Farm Band, an early Jam Band which toured in the seventies and eighties. His most recent books are revised and annotated versions of Monday Night Class and The Caravan.
Counterculture of the 1960s
The counterculture of the 1960s refers to a cultural movement that mainly developed in the United States and spread throughout much of the western world between 1960 and 1973. The movement gained momentum during the U.S. government's extensive military intervention in Vietnam...
hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
icon
Icon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
best known for his presence in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco in the 1960s and for co-founding "The Farm
The Farm (Tennessee)
The Farm is an intentional community in Lewis County, Tennessee, near the town of Summertown, Tennessee, based on principles of nonviolence and respect for the Earth. It was founded in 1971 by Stephen Gaskin and 320 San Francisco hippies; The Farm is well known amongst hippies and other members of...
", a famous spiritual intentional community
Intentional community
An intentional community is a planned residential community designed to have a much higher degree of teamwork than other communities. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, or spiritual vision and often follow an alternative lifestyle. They...
in Summertown, Tennessee
Summertown, Tennessee
Summertown is an unincorporated community in Lawrence County, Tennessee, USA. Summertown is surrounded by 4 counties: Lawrence, Lewis, Maury, and Giles...
. He was a Green Party
Green Party (United States)
The Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...
presidential primary candidate in 2000 on a platform which included campaign finance reform, universal health care, and decriminalization of marijuana. He is the author of over a dozen books, a father, a grandfather, a teacher, a musician (drummer), a semantic rapper, a public speaker, a political activist, a philanthropic organizer, and a self-proclaimed professional hippie.
Life
Gaskin was born in Denver, ColoradoDenver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
and served in the United States Marines from 1952 to 1955. In the 1960s, he moved to San Francisco and taught English, creative writing, and general semantics at San Francisco State College
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
, where he was a student of S. I. Hayakawa
S. I. Hayakawa
Samuel Ichiye Hayakawa was a Canadian-born American academic and political figure of Japanese ancestry. He was an English professor, and served as president of San Francisco State University and then as United States Senator from California from 1977 to 1983...
. His writing class became an open discussion known as Monday Night Class, which involved up to 1500 students.
In 1970, Gaskin was part of a caravan of 60 vehicles that crossed the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to settle 60 miles south-west of Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, forming a community called "The Farm", which the Wall Street Journal came to call "the General Motors of American Communes". This community was "a platform from which to launch efforts to improve the lot of poor and indigenous peoples, whales, and old growth trees" For example, raising 1,200 earthquake-resistant homes in Guatemala as well as several public buildings and water lines to 5 villages, sending independent dosimetry
Dosimetry
Radiation dosimetry is the measurement and calculation of the absorbed dose in matter and tissue resulting from the exposure to indirect and direct ionizing radiation...
teams after the Three Mile Island accident
Three Mile Island accident
The Three Mile Island accident was a core meltdown in Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania near Harrisburg, United States in 1979....
and the Chernobyl disaster
Chernobyl disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine , which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities in Moscow...
, or giving the Rainbow Warrior
Rainbow Warrior (1978)
The Rainbow Warrior was a former UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food trawler later purchased by the environmental organisation Greenpeace...
equipment to escape from a Spanish harbor.
He went to prison in 1974 for marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
possession, as members of the community had, against his recommendation, planted several marijuana plants on the property. He served one year of a three-year sentence. While in prison, a class action suit on his behalf returned voting rights to more than a quarter of a million convicts.
In Volume One: Sunday Morning Services on the Farm and earlier talks, Stephen Gaskin produced a substantial body of spiritual teaching. His ideas are now contained in books and tapes of the Sunday Morning Services which were published by the Book Publishing Company on The Farm. They speak of magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
, energy and life in community
Intentional community
An intentional community is a planned residential community designed to have a much higher degree of teamwork than other communities. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, or spiritual vision and often follow an alternative lifestyle. They...
as well as of service to humanity.
Gaskin was recipient of the first Right Livelihood Award (Alternative Nobel Prize) in 1980 and an inductee into the Counterculture Hall of Fame
Counterculture Hall of Fame
The Counterculture Hall of Fame was created in 1997 by High Times Editor Steven Hager. The purpose of the Hall of Fame was to help focus ceremonies at the annual Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam, and to celebrate the history of the counterculture by recognizing its saints. The inductions are done in...
in 2004. He was awarded the Golden Bolt Award by The Farm Motor Pool (for helping buy a lemon semi), and won the Guru-Off (without even entering), racking up 77 points to Krishnamurti’s 73.
Gaskin works as an international activist and speaker, and he continues to write. His topics range from advice on all aspects of communal life and farming to CB radio, the counter-culture, spirituality, drug law reform, and social and spiritual issues. He was a drummer in The Farm Band, an early Jam Band which toured in the seventies and eighties. His most recent books are revised and annotated versions of Monday Night Class and The Caravan.
See also
- Plenty InternationalPlenty InternationalPlenty International is an environmental, humanitarian aid and human rights organization based in Summertown, Tennessee, USA.-Background:In 1974, Stephen Gaskin and The Farm, an intentional community, started an outreach program called Plenty...
- Ina May GaskinIna May GaskinIna May Gaskin, CPM, has been described as "the mother of authentic midwifery."-Family:Gaskin was born to an Iowa Protestant family . Her father, Talford Middleton, was raised on a large Iowa farm, which was lost to a bank not long after his father’s accidental death in 1926...
- CountercultureCountercultureCounterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
- Alternative lifestyleAlternative lifestyleAn alternative lifestyle is a lifestyle generally perceived to be outside the cultural norm. Usually, but not always, it implies an affinity or identification within some matching subculture...