 | My Odyssey Through the Underground Press Subjects: Kindman Michael 1945–1991; Newspaper editors -- United States -- Biography; Journalists -- United States -- Biography; Underground press publications -- United States -- History -- 20th century; In 1963, Michigan State University, the nation's first land grant college, attracted a record number of National Merit Scholars by offering competitive scholarships. One of these exceptional students was Michael Kindman. After the beginning of the Free Speech Movement in Berkeley, Kindman, in line to be editor-in-chief of the official MSU student newspaper, felt compelled to seek a more radical forum of intellectual debate. In 1965, he dropped out of school and founded The Paper , one of the first five members of Underground Press Syndicate. This gripping autobiography follows Kindman's inspiring journey of self-discovery, from MSU to Boston, where he joined the staff of Avatar , unaware that the large commune that controlled the paper was a charismatic cult. Five years later, he fled the commune's outpost in Kansas and headed to San Francisco, where he came out as a gay man, changed his name to Mica, and continued his work as an activist and visionary. Michael Kindman founded The Paper, the first underground newspaper in East Lansing, Michigan. He was one of the first five members of Underground Press Syndicate, the first major nationwide network of underground papers. An energetic activist and author, Kindman died of complications of AIDS in 1991. |
