Beyond Cuckoo’s Nest, or Composing one’s book

Abstract

The author reflects on her personal acquaintance and pen friendship with Zoe C. Escobar (1948–2021), an American ‘one-book writer.’ Escobar’s own biography and the writing process behind Beyond Cuckoo’s Nest: The Art and Life of William ‘Sonny’ Sampson, Jr., her book on the Muscogee Creek Indian cowboy, actor and artist, are presented in the form of lively conversations between herself and the author of the article, accompanied by depictions of the private life of Native Americans in the period spanning the second half of the 20th and the early 21st cc. The article particularly focuses on the origin of the nonprofit American Indian Registry for the Performing Arts in Hollywood, founded by Escobar, who also served as its first executive director, as well as Escobar’s personal and work relationship with the actor, artist and Native Americans’ spiritual leader Will Sampson, whose most memorable role was that of Chief Bromden in M. Forman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The author of the article chooses the format of a case study to explore several technical aspects of the creative process and construct Z. Escobar’s and W. Sampson’s psychological portraits.