Paul Krassner (born April 9, 1932) was editor and frequent contributor to the Freethought magazine The Realist , which, first published in 1958, is a very early example of the "underground" countercultural press in the US. The Realist was published intermittently until 2001.

Krassner was a child violin prodigy, but his career took a different turn; he is an important figure in many aspects of politically-edged humor and satire in the US since the 1950s. He was a close protege of the controversial comedian Lenny Bruce (he edited Bruce's autobiography); he worked on early issues of Mad magazine; he was a founder of the Youth International Party in 1967, famous for prankster activism. He is known in intellectual property circles for having printed the controversial The Disneyland Memorial Orgy in The Realist. He remains a prolific writer and stand-up comedian.

Books by Paul Krassner

• The Best of the Realist: The 60's Most Outrageously Irreverent Magazine
• How a Satirical Editor Became a Yippie Conspirator in Ten Easy Years
• Confessions of a Raving, Unconfined Nut: Misadventures in the Counter-Culture
• High Times Presents Paul Krassner's Pot Stories for the Soul, compiled by Krassner with a forward by Ellison, Harlan ISBN 1893010023
• Magic Mushrooms and Other Highs: From Toad Slime to Ecstasy
• Murder at the Conspiracy Convention: And Other American Absurdities, introduced by Carlin, George
• Paul Krassner's Psychedelic Trips for the Mind
• Paul Krassner's Impolite Interviews
• Sex, Drugs, and the Twinkie Murders
• The Winner of the Slow Bicycle Race: The Satirical Writings of Paul Krassner
• "My Acid Trip With Groucho Marx"

External links

• Yippie Yippies Krassner, Paul
• pkpage http://www.paulkrassner.com/
• The Realist