Psychedelic Press UK
Literary Reviews
Literary Review: ‘On Drugs’ by David Lenson
Originally published in 1995 ‘On Drugs’ by David Lenson is a fascinating and enlightening pharmacography on the cultural reception of drugs from the point-of-view of the user. The author had previously published works that included ‘Achilles’ Choice’ (1975) and ‘The Birth of Tragedy: A Commentary’ (1987) and was Professor of Comparative Literature at the University … Continue reading
Literary Review: ‘Alice in Acidland – Lewis Carroll Revisited’ by Thomas Fensch
Originally published in 1970 ‘Alice in Acidland – Lewis Carroll Revisited’ was written by the photographer and author Thomas Fensch. Thomas Fensch opens Alice in Acidland (1970) by postulating what the response to Lewis Carroll’s original Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) would have been had the book been published in 1970. Aside from the obvious … Continue reading
Literary Review: ‘Mushrooms, Myth & Mithras’ by Carl A. P. Ruck, Mark A. Hoffman and Jose Alfredo González Celdrán
Originally published in 2011 ‘Mushrooms, Myth & Mithras – The drug cult that civilized Europe’ was written by Carl A. P. Ruck, Mark A. Hoffman and Jose Alfredo González Celdrán. The book continues the tradition of re-reading the history of religion in Eurasia in light of the entheogenic experience, which began in the late 1960s with Robert Gordon … Continue reading
Literary Review: ‘Psychedelic Shamanism’ by Jim DeKorne
Originally published in 1994 ‘Psychedelic Shamanism’ by Jim DeKorne grew into something of an ‘underground classic’. The updated edition, from which this review has been written, was published in 2011 and follows the publication of the book’s sequel ‘The Cracking Tower’ in 2009. DeKorne was the editor of ‘The Entheogen Review’ between 1992 – 1997. … Continue reading
Literary Review: ‘The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide’ by James Fadiman
Originally published in 2011 ‘The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide – Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys’ by James Fadiman deals with a certain psychiatric approach to hallucinogens; namely the psychedelic. The author has been involved in psychedelic research since its heyday in the 1960s and currently teaches at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, which he helped found … Continue reading
Literary Review: ‘The Man who Turned on the World’ by Michael Hollingshead
Originally published in 1973 ‘The Man who Turned on the World’ by Michael Hollingshead recounts the author’s involvement in the psychedelic movement of the 1960s. Having been told by Aldous Huxley to talk with Timothy Leary, and having subsequently given Leary his first LSD trip, Hollingshead’s notoriety was assured. The book is a fascinating landscape … Continue reading
Literary Review: ‘The Psilocybin Solution’ by Simon G. Powell
Originally published in 2011 ‘The Psilocybin Solution – The role of sacred mushrooms in the quest for meaning’ by Simon G. Powell is, broadly speaking, an examination of the role that psilocybin has played in its relationship with humans. This includes entheological history, psilocybin’s behaviour within the neurochemical processes of the brain, the nature of … Continue reading
Literary Review: ‘The Peyote Dance’ by Antonin Artaud
Originally published in France under the title ‘Les Tarahumaras’ (1947), ‘The Peyote Dance’ by Antonin Artaud describes the author’s experiences with Peyote and the Tarahumara in Mexico, in 1936. Written over twelve years and covering Artaud’s stay at a psychiatric hospital in Rodez, the book is an important work of drug literature, so far as … Continue reading
Literary Review: ‘To Live Outside the Law’ by Leaf Fielding
Originally published in 2011 ‘To Live Outside the Law’ by Leaf Fielding is an autobiographical account of his life leading up to, and his involvement with, the distribution of Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in Britain during the 1970s. One of a number of people involved who were caught and sentenced by the infamous Operation Julie, … Continue reading
Literary Review: ‘Pharmako/Dynamis’ by Dale Pendell
Originally published in 2002 ‘Pharmako/Dynamis – Stimulating Plants, Potions & Herbcrafts’ is Dale Pendell’s follow up to his excellent ‘Pharmako/Poeia’, and deals with the Excitantia and Empathogenica classes of psychoactive plants. This review is written from the 2010 updated edition, which continues the author’s stroll through the ‘poison path’, in poetic, scientific and historical fashion. … Continue reading
