A GROOVY INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR JOHN MCCLEARY

John McCleary is a married 61-year-old Monterey resident with three children. Oh, and he�s a Hippie. The newly expanded version of his book, The Hippie Dictionary, A Cultural Encyclopedia of the 1960's and 1970's (June 2004), is available everywhere (far out!). He�s had two other books published, too, but The Hippie Dictionary has caught on as a literary phenomenon because of the climate of the 1960's with its anti-war message and what is happening currently in the war-torn world. His book was recently written up in Newsweek Magazine (July 12, 2004) and is being read far and wide by those with an interest in Hippie history and where we might have taken a wrong turn culturally. Be prepared to be "blown away" by this amazing interview!

FWOMP: The Hippie Dictionary is much more than just a dictionary, isn�t it? What do you feel the message of the book is?

John McCleary: Well, it is a dictionary, with definitions and such, it's title being The Hippie Dictionary, A Cultural Encyclopedia of the 1960's and 1970's. But it�s also an encapsulation of the Hippie era. It�s basically a piece of cultural literature. After it was published I got letters and spoke to people who loved the book because it brought back many things that were lost during that era. It also focuses heavily on the ecological movement of the time and how it�s developed into today�s society.

FWOMP: How long did it take you to write The Hippie Dictionary, and where did you garner most of your research?

JM: I came up with the title ten years ago. I carried around a pen and paper for three years, wrote down everything I could think of, and listened for words that reminded me of the Hippie culture. Later I transferred the information to a computer and indexed all of the language. There are 700 pages and over 6,000 entries in The Hippie Dictionary, and many of the words and phrases have died out or been forgotten. Many of the terms and words can not even be found in other slang dictionaries. If I couldn�t remember something, I�d contact friends and ask them what they thought the definition of this or that was. When the Internet came into its own (the mid-90's and 2000), I started using it for research, but even then I couldn�t find everything I needed and had to frequent libraries for the necessary information.

FWOMP: Do you hear the term "Hippie" used much in today�s language? What about terms that developed out of that era? Do you still hear them?

JM: I think that the 60's and 70's contributed more to our current language than any other time. Thanks to travel (to Europe, Asia and back here at home), we were able to affect many more people with the language of the times then had been previously possible. We also picked up words and spread them around quickly. We hitchhiked a lot back then and bumped into new cultures, too. The counter-culture created its own language. We shortened words, and that has continued on to this day. For example, "cool" is now "coo". Thanks to email and text messaging, words and phrases are becoming even shorter. There are lots of words that have traveled from the Hippie culture into our current life. For instance words like "funk", "goof", "hooked", and phrases like "get a grip" are all now commonly used. One of my favorite sentences is "I mean, like, you know." And that�s a sentence! Many of the terms, words, and phrases were a product of the 1950's and early 60's Beatnik era, but Hippies used them more widely and brought them into common usage.

FWOMP: Give our readers a reason to pick up The Hippie Dictionary and read it.

JM: I think it�s the best slang dictionary available. It�s unabridged at 700 pages. All derivations of many words are in there (including the word "fuck"). It contains a lists of movements of the time, so it is historically significant. Examples are: the civil rights movement, the anti-war movement, the gay movement, the women's movement, men�s liberation, the environmental movement, the exercise movement (no one exercised much before the 60's except for body builders and such), yoga, and health and the health food movement (not just the vegetarian movement, but simply eating healthy). I also think it�s an excellent reference book for those who have English as a second language.

FWOMP: Let�s talk about the current political situation (the war in Iraq and Afghanistan) versus what was happening in the 60's and 70's (the war in Vietnam). Do you feel that some of the Hippie culture might be rebirthing itself because of the similarities of the times?

JM: The Hippie culture is greatly reborn! I had a couple of 14-year-old girls buy The Hippie Dictionary because everyone called them "Hippie chicks." They pooled their money, in proper Hippie fashion, and bought one book between them . . . that�s how important it was for them to learn about the culture. What has happened to our political situation here and abroad can be directly attributed to the Reagan Administration. Now that he�s gone, we can speak out about his negative effect on this country. While he was dying of Alzheimer�s it didn�t seem fair to criticize the guy, but his administration was devastating to the average, everyday American. Basically, the American Dream died during the Reagan Administration. He destroyed our unions, deregulated the media, loan industry, pharmaceutical companies and changed many other laws in favor of big business. I�d be willing to bet that 9/11 would NEVER have happened if he hadn�t been elected. Because of him and his friends, we are still on the oil standard, which is damaging our economy and the environment.

FWOMP: Okay, let�s talk about you for a moment. You�re a Hippie (by your own admission), but do you practice what you preach? For instance, do you drive a car?

JM: I drive a 1991 Volvo and a 1997 minivan. Sorry, I don�t own a Volkswagen. The upkeep on them is difficult today. I used to ride a bike, which is my favorite form of transportation, but like many people I�ve been forced into driving because of the current state of our world and the materialism of our country. I�m not a purist Hippie, but I know people who are. I�ve evolved, like many other Hippies. We�re pragmatic. We may not look like the Hollywood Hippies you see on film but we�re still out there. Many of us have changed direction slightly, going into what is called "soft businesses" like bookstores and stuff. But we still call ourselves Hippies.

FWOMP: Do you ever eat at fast food restaurants?

JM: Never. I don�t eat at chain restaurants. I�ll get take-out Chinese food or sushi (some of those might be considered "fast"), but that�s about it.

FWOMP: You live in Monterey, a pretty mild and quiet place. Would you prefer to live in San Francisco where the counter-culture is a bit more prevalent?

JM: I�d love to spend more time in San Francisco. If I were independently wealthy, I�d own a condo in San Francisco and jump between Monterey and there. The trouble with Monterey is that we don�t really have consistently good music venues, live theater or an art film house anymore. The Osio Theater is about the closest we have to good movies. If you go to SF, you�ll see what an art house really is!

FWOMP: Have you written any other books besides The Hippie Dictionary?

JM: Yes, two others. They were photography books. I did photo posters on the counter-culture society and a book called The People's Book in 1972. Then, in 1997, I produced Monterey Peninsula People, a photo book on local people, not just the celebrities. I focused on people from all walks of life, showing the diversity of this area.

FWOMP: Any new literary projects coming out that we should watch for?

JM: I have about six books I�m working on now! The problem is that I�m used to deadlines. I like them. But no one�s giving me deadlines, so lots of these books are unfinished. If I sat down for three months and continued writing, I could have four books finished in no time.

FWOMP: Is there a website that our readers can visit if they wish to find out more information about you and your literary works?

JM: Yes, Hippiedictionary.com









Copyright Byron Merritt/FWOMP and John McCleary, August 2004