Fiske was born in
Brooklyn,
New York, to an immigrant
Jewish family from
Georgia,
Moldavia, and
Romania. He graduated from
Cornell University in 1928. that later became
Quarry Hill Creative Center, in
Rochester, Vermont. Fiske joined
Allen Ginsberg and
Peter Orlovsky in a
First Amendment-based defense of the
Beat Generation coffee houses along
Second Avenue in the
East Village in 1964. Some business owners objected to the use of "obscenity" in the Beat poetry being read by poets like Ginsberg and many others. Ginsberg, Orlovsky, Fiske, and others won the case. The right of poets to use any language they choose is considered a part of their art, as well as a constitutional right. In the mid-1960s, Barbara opened a storefront, The Gallery Gwen, in New York's
East Village. There, Barbara showed her paintings, along with those of others, and Irving began to give public talks on
Tantra,
Zen,
Sufism,
Hinduism,
Christianity,
Judaism, and
atheism, among many other things. Irving became well known around the Village, and was soon speaking to standing-room-only audiences. Many associated him with
R. Crumb's character
Mr. Natural. Irving spoke out in favor of people finding their own creative path in life, enjoying themselves, being free of guilt and shame, and children's rights. He wrote letters for young men who were
conscientious objectors to the
Vietnam War. Irving was known in the Village as "The Forest Wizard," (someone had given him a card on the street one day and he made it a part of his persona); and in
Florida, where he had a cabin on a lake, he was known as "The Socrates of the
Ocala National Forest." Fiske also spoke at colleges and churches on the East Coast, such as
Goddard College in
Plainfield, Vermont. Hundreds of young people, including many who became well-known, such as
Art Spiegelman (who dated, and lived with, Fiske's daughter Isabella) and
Stephen Huneck, began to visit
Quarry Hill Creative Center. Many stayed to build houses; Quarry Hill is now the oldest and largest alternative lifestyle group in
Vermont, and one of the largest in
New England. A controversial figure, in the 1970s, when his cabin in the Ocala Forest was burnt by arsonists, and the authorities did not give him a permit to rebuild, he launched a legal and media battle, claiming that the authorities were prejudiced against the young people he brought there as his friends, most of whom had long hair. He eventually got the permit and rebuilt the cabin. Fiske and his wife divorced in 1976. After a period of some tension, he and Barbara reached a state of friendliness and mutual support, with the shared desire to see Quarry Hill continue. With the assistance of her son, William, and others, Barbara created a corporation to own the land. Fiske — who went on with all the activities that entertained him and promoted a more sane future for humanity—became well known in the counterculture both in the United States and elsewhere. He died of a stroke in
Ocala,
Florida, on April 25, 1990. Most
Saturday Review readers wrote in favor of the translation; as did such notable figures as
William Saroyan,
Orson Welles,
Henry Miller,
Upton Sinclair,
Aldous Huxley, and
George Bernard Shaw. == Bibliography ==