Description
A small collection by and about Ken Feit (1940-1981), a Jesuit who left the order to become an itinerant fool. He died in
an automobile accident in 1981. He was well-remembered by his many friends, including Matthew Fox.
Background
Kenneth (Ken) Feit was born in Chicago, graduated from Loyola University,
studied medieval history at UC-Berkeley, and received a master’s in history from Xavier University, Cincinnati. He entered
the Jesuit order in 1964. He worked in St Louis, especially with Black youths to develop sound poetry. Feit explored activism
as a prophetic clown and jester. He studied at the Ringling Clown Circus in Florida and the National Theater for the Deaf
in Connecticut. He left the Jesuits in 1972 to become a wandering minstrel.
Although he died in an automobile accident in 1981, he is well remembered on the internet. The following reflects his life:
“Ken Feit (1940–1981) was a Chicago-born poet, performer, and self-proclaimed itinerant fool. Although relatively unknown,
Feit’s writings show him to be one of the twentieth century’s most insightful and innovative practitioners of western iurodstvo.”
(https://theeconomypress.com/Ken-Feit) The term is a Russian word for the idea of “holy foolishness” for Christ's sake.