This collection documents the life of Nina Graboi, encompassing her immersion in the American counterculture and psychedelic movements and her career as a writer during the 1960s through the 1990s. It contains play scripts and correspondence related to Graboi's early work in the theater industry, including translations of plays written by European playwrights like Jacques Audiberti. Regarding Graboi's professional life and recreational activities within the counterculture movement, it consists of news clippings, published articles, correspondence, transcripts, audiovisual material, printed material, and ephemera from various organizations, conferences, and events. Some of these materials pertain to significant organizations Graboi led such as Third Force Lecture Bureau, Timothy Leary's League for Spiritual Discovery, and the Woodstock Transformation Center as well as her work with Ralph Abraham, a UC Santa Cruz mathematics professor. Many materials are related to Woodstock, New York, where Graboi lived from 1969 to 1979 and Santa Cruz, California, where she lived from 1979 until her death in 1999. The collection holds Graboi's published and unpublished writings including plays, poems, essays, personal journals, and articles. It includes draft manuscripts, correspondence, and press publications for Graboi's autobiography, One Foot in the Future: A Woman's Spiritual Journey , published in 1991.

Nina Graboi, formerly Gusti Schreyer, was born on December 8, 1918 in Vienna, Austria. Graboi fled Vienna in 1938 and eventually immigrated to the United States in 1941. During the 1960s, Graboi became involved in the counterculture and psychedelic movements, developing relationships with key figures like Timothy Leary, Richard Alpert (Ram Dass), and Terence McKenna. From the 1960s through the 1990s, Graboi wrote extensively about her experiences taking psychedelic drugs and her spiritual beliefs. In 1991, her autobiography, One Foot in the Future: A Woman's Spiritual Journey, was published. Graboi passed away in 1999 at her home in Santa Cruz, California.

10 Linear Feet 16 half cartons, 1 flat box

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Collection open for research. Audiovisual media is unavailable until reformatted. Contact Special Collections and Archives in advance to request access to audiovisual media.