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Title: Ken Feit Collection
Dates: 1960-1981
Collection Number: GTU 2020-12-01
Creator/Collector:
Feit, Ken, 1940-1981
Jesuit
Extent: .5 linear feet (1 - .5" box)
Repository:
Graduate Theological Union
Berkeley, California 94709
Abstract: 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.
Language of Material: English
Open to the public.
Copyright has not been assigned to Graduate Theological Union.
[Identification of item]. Ken Feit Collection. Collection Number: GTU 2020-12-01. Graduate Theological Union
From the estate of a friend of Ken Feit, Robin Goodfellow (1940-2017), an Oakland performer, artist, educator, musician, and
community activist. Received November 2020.
Biography/Administrative History
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.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection includes letters, writings, Creative Ministry and Loyola Press publications from the early 1970's thru 1981,
and the book, Foolish Wisdom: Stories, Activities, and Reflections from Ken Feit, by Joseph F. Martin (1990).
Clowns -- Religious aspects
Christian education