Psychedelic Press UK
drugs
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
Breaking Convention 2011: Notes from a Psychedelic Conference
The sprawling campus of the University of Kent, in Canterbury, became host to the UK’s first psychedelic consciousness conference on the second and third of April, 2011. The campus’ Wolfe building was a thronging hive, as all the psychedelic bees gathered to share their research, their experiences and their ideas in a sweet-honey-melting-pot. At the … Continue reading
Literary Review: ‘Aya – A Shamanic Odyssey’ by Rak Razam
Originally published in 2009 ‘Aya: A Shamanic Odyssey’ by Rak Razam is a fine addition to the burgeoning genre of ayahuasca literature. Rak Razam is a journalist and editor of ‘The Journeybook: Travels on the Frontiers of Consciousness’. This book charts the author’s own journey in South America and the Amazon, as he has a … Continue reading
Literary Review: ‘Freud on Coke’ by David Cohen
The hardback edition of ‘Freud on Coke’ by David Cohen is due to be published on the 31 March 2011. Writer and filmmaker David Cohen has previously published works such as Home Alone (2010) and The Escape of Sigmund Freud (2009), and while the latter dealt with one of Freud’s so-called ‘secret histories’, this offering deals … Continue reading
Literary Review: ‘Phantastica’ by Louis Lewin
Originally published in Germany in 1924 ‘Phantastica’ by Louis Lewin was first published in English in 1931. This review is written from the Park Street Press edition, 1998. The text is an early attempt at a categorisation of psychoactive drugs and while, in many respects, it is dated, especially pharmacologically, it still remains an important … Continue reading
Events Review: Drugs in Victorian Britain
The ‘Drugs in Victorian Britain’ symposium was held at the Wellcome Collection, London, on the 11th and 12th of February, 2011 as part of their High Society exhibition. Friday evening was a showing of the Magic Lantern, a Victorian visual entertainment with musical accompaniment and on the Saturday it played host to an eclectic selection … Continue reading
Ayahuasca and the Vines of Politics
The following article has been written and contributed to PsypressUK by the Reverend Nemu, author of Nemu’s End: The History, Psychology, and Poetry of the Apocalypse and the Nemu’s End blog, with special thanks to the other Devilish Dan. We’d like to extend our thanks to the Reverend for his time and effort writing this article. After bubbling and brewing away for … Continue reading
Literary Review: ‘The Atmosphere of Heaven’ by Mike Jay
Originally published in 2009 ‘The Atmosphere of Heaven: The Unnatural Experiments of Dr Beddoes and his Sons of Genius’ is an outstanding work of historical non-fiction by Mike Jay. His previously published drug-related works include such titles as ‘Blue Tide’ and ‘Emperors of Dreams’ and this offering is an examination of, arguably, the era in … Continue reading
Literary Review: ‘Artificial Paradises’ by Charles Baudelaire
Originally published in France, in 1860, under the title ‘Les Paradis Artificiels’ (Artificial Paradises); Charles Baudelaire’s classic of drug writing is a blend of personal insight, translation, and morality discourse. The edition used by this review is the 1996 Citadel Press book, translated by Stacy Diamond. The Citadel Press edition includes On Wine and Hashish … Continue reading
Arts Review: High Society at the Wellcome Collection
According to their press release the Wellcome Collection’s latest exhibition High Society “explores the role of mind-altering drugs in history and culture” and challenges “the perception that drugs are a disease of modern life”. Indeed, it was my impression that the exhibition did more than just challenge false historical assumption, it challenged the very notion … Continue reading
