Walter Howard Bowart (May 14, 1939 – December 18, 2007)Fox, Marglit (Jan. 14, 2008)

( obituary). ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. was an American leader in the counterculture movement of the 1960s, founder and editor of the first underground newspaper in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, the ''

East Village Other ''The East Village Other'' (often abbreviated as ''EVO'') was an American underground newspaper in New York City, issued biweekly during the 1960s. It was described by '' The New York Times'' as "a New York newspaper so countercultural that it ...

'', and author of the book ''Operation Mind Control''.

Life and career

Born Walter Howard Kirby in Omaha,

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

, Bowart was adopted as a newborn by Walter and Fenna Bowart. He was raised in Enid, Oklahoma, and won a McMahon Scholarship in journalism to the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

. In the early 1960s Bowart moved to

to pursue his interest in painting, and there he met his first wife Linda Dugmore, daughter of abstract expressionist Edward Dugmore, and had his first son Wolfe. In 1965, Bowart, along with Ishmael Reed, who named the paper, Sherry Needham, Allen Katzman, and Dan Rattiner founded the ''

'' (EVO). EVO offered a newsprint medium for the rants, artwork, poetry and comics of such 1960s icons as

Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from bold oracle to publicity hound. He was "a her ...

, Allen Ginsberg, Abbie Hoffman,

Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American cartoonist and musician who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contem ...

, Marshall McLuhan,

Spain Rodriguez Manuel Rodriguez (March 2, 1940 – November 28, 2012), better known as Spain or Spain Rodriguez, was an American underground cartoonist who created the character Trashman. His experiences on the road with the motorcycle club, the Road Vultures M ...

, and The Fugs. In 1966, Bowart testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency about banning

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

. He drew national attention with his recommendations. Through his connection with ex-Harvard professor

, Walter met his second wife, Peggy Hitchcock. They moved to

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

in 1968 where Bowart founded Omen Press, a publishing house for metaphysical books. Among other books, Omen Press published ''This Is The New Age In Person'' by "Sufi Sam", for which Bowart wrote the foreword. Bowart and Peggy Hitchcock had two daughters, Sophia and Nuria. In 1973 Bowart located and reconnected with his biological parents, Thomas J. Kirby and Patricia J. Dooley, and discovered he had three younger sisters, Janet, Nancy and Kathy. His adoption had a profound impact on Bowart and he later published various articles under the names of his biological parents. During this period Bowart wrote the book that was to become his seminal work, ''Operation Mind Control''. Published by Dell in 1978 with a foreword by '' The Manchurian Candidate'' author Richard Condon, ''Operation Mind Control'' was a 317-page investigative report into government

mind control Brainwashing (also known as mind control, menticide, coercive persuasion, thought control, thought reform, and forced re-education) is the concept that the human mind can be altered or controlled by certain psychological techniques. Brainwashin ...

through the use of drugs such as

, behavior modification,

hypnosis Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychologica ...

, and other "psycho-weapons". Following a

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an promotional tour, Bowart moved to

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the '' Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (Chin ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, where he continued his research, became a contributor to the ''

Aspen Daily News The ''Aspen Daily News'' is a 14,500-circulation (unaudited), 7-day-a-week newspaper in the ski resort of Aspen, Colorado that started in 1978. In 1978, Dave Danforth, then working as a stringer for The Denver Post and some national publications, ...

'', and met Margo Jordan, his third wife. In the early 1980s, Bowart created and published the ''Port Townsend Daily News'' in Port Townsend, Washington, where he met and married Rebecca Fullerton and had his fourth child, Wythe. In the late 1980s, Walter moved to

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

to become the editor of ''Palm Springs Life Magazine'' where he published articles under the name Thomas Kirby, Tom Kirby, and Tom J. Kirby as well as W.H. Bowart.Kirby, Thomas (Mar. 1985)
"The Statue Of Liberty: Selling Lady Liberty's Hand-me-downs."
''Palm Springs Life'', vol. 27, no. 7, p. 219. In Bowart's later years, he researched and wrote prolifically. He created The Freedom of Thought Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the education of the public about

. He was a frequently invited guest speaker at forums and conferences around the country. Bowart died of colon cancer at his sister's home in Inchelium, Washington on December 18, 2007. At the time of his death, Bowart was working on several screenplays and novels, including ''The Other Crusades'', which was about

in the early 1960s.

References

External links

Full text: ''Operation Mind Control: Researcher's Edition''
at

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Full audiobook: ''Operation Mind Control'', narrated by James Martinez

synoptic chapter outline of Bowart's unfinished manuscript, from 1990, co-written with Richard Sutton
Interview of Bowart by Ned Potter

Interview of Bowart by Dave Emory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowart, Walter 1939 births 2007 deaths Writers from Omaha, Nebraska University of Oklahoma alumni American newspaper editors American magazine editors American book publishers (people) American social sciences writers American adoptees American psychedelic drug advocates Deaths from colorectal cancer Mind control theorists Deaths from cancer in Washington (state) Writers from Enid, Oklahoma

Life and career

Further reading

References

External links