WRITINGS
The following psychedelia-themed pieces were featured in various anthologies, journals and magazines from 2009 and onwards. Many of them were published in limited editions and are no longer in print. I often republish my articles on the web, and some are specifically written for online publications (see links below).
”Psychedelic Anarch: The Drug Writings of Ernst Jünger” (Part Two)”
Lead paragraph:
As a young man in the 1920s, German writer Ernst Jünger undertook various self-experiments with psychoactive substances. But, a difficult experience after ingesting cannabis paste led to a 30-year hiatus in his drug-taking. During this extensive period, Jünger focused on his career as a writer, and he saw his explorations in drug-induced altered states as a thing of the past. New friendships and cultural impulses, however, made him curious about psychedelics, a class of drugs he had yet to explore, and following his first personal experience he became deeply intrigued by their effects; so much so that they affected his literary work.
Psychedelic Press XXXVIII, 2023
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”Psychedelic Anarch: The Drug Writings of Ernst Jünger (Part One)”
Lead paragraph:
It has been said that Ernst Jünger got high on two things: war and drugs. In his youth, Jünger sought out adventure on the battlefield. There, he came to regard war as a transcendental, inner experience. Jünger also had a lifelong interest in drugs and their multitude of effects. And like any true psychonaut—a word he himself coined—he put his drug experiences into writing. His elaborate work on his self-experiments with psychoactive substances, however, remains largely ignored.
Psychedelic Press XXXVII, 2022
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”Psychedelics in the Age of Sexual Liberation”
Lead paragraph:
In the mid 1950s, artists and writers with a penchant for the erotic – some occultists, others belonging to the Beat contingent – got interested in psychedelics. This resulted in several influential and groundbreaking eroto-psychedelic works in the fields of art, literature and film. And, as the 1950s turned into the 1960s, psychedelics were increasingly used in conjunction with sex, as manifested in numerous cultural and artistic expressions. In fact, towards the end of the 1960s the LSD-driven counterculture seemed to be completely engulfed in the search for sexual ecstasy.
Psychedelic Press XXX, 2020; The Oak Tree Review, 2021 – read it here
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”Wicked Ecstasy: Altered States in The Name of the Rose”
Lead paragraph:
Scratch the surface, and it soon becomes evident that Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose is much more than a murder mystery set in a Medieval abbey. The novel’s numerous characters, details and historical events lend the text a rhizome-like quality. In fact, it has been said of The Name of the Rose that every reader finds a novel within the novel. This I experienced myself when I discovered that the story has many references to altered states of consciousness and psychoactive herbs.
The Oak Tree Review, 2019 – read it here
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”An Introduction to Eroto-Psychedelic Art”
Lead paragraph:
When psychedelic art first appeared as an artistic genre in the mid to late sixties, a wave of sexual liberation was sweeping the west. The era of the “Sexual Revolution,” as it became known, was a time of major social change, which had great impact on millions of people’s lives. Naturally, this historical transformation also affected and shaped the members of the LSD counterculture, and, consequently, psychedelic art.
The Oak Tree Review, 2018; The Fenris Wolf 10, 2020 – read it here
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”Sea of Radiance: An Interview with William Leonard Pickard”
Lead paragraph:
The following long-form interview is the first extended Q&A with Harvard and UCLA drug policy researcher turned writer William Leonard Pickard dedicated to the topic of altered states of consciousness. Published on the anniversary of Swiss scientist Albert Hofmann’s discovery of the psychedelic properties of LSD on 16 April 1943, this rare interview touches upon alchemy, psychedelic literature, and the challenging art of describing altered states via literary prose. Also discussed are altruistic motives for making LSD, memory in relation to the psychedelic experience, and the recent appearance of potentially lethal research chemicals that have reportedly been sold as LSD to unwitting users.
The Oak Tree Review, 2017 – read it here
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”A Brief History of Swedish Psychedelia”
Lead paragraph:
Whenever Sweden is discussed in books, the media or in conversation, very rarely is anything said of its psychedelic culture. Yet if one takes a deeper look one will actually find a mycelium of scientists, artists, writers, hippies and freethinkers who were at some point shaped by psychedelics. What follows here is the story of these often captivating characters and their activities.
The Oak Tree Review, 2017 (an earlier version of the text was published in Psychedelic Press UK 2014 Volume II) – read it here
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”We Ate the Acid: A Note on Psychedelic Imagery”
Lead paragraph:
Psychedelic art typically contains a number of recurring motifs. Examples include circles, spirals, eyes, concentric shapes, grids, landscapes, nudity, long hair, skeletons and mushrooms. Other common motifs are various kinds of non-human animals, vegetation, space scenery and mandalas. And when humans and objects are featured, they are occasionally seen in x-ray. Furthermore, psychedelic art is usually – but not always – characterised by intense, contrasting colours. There may also be a liquid quality to objects, where it looks as if they are melting. Obviously, these motifs and features are also included in many other artistic genres. Hence, in order to be defined as psychedelic, the motifs have to be combined and presented in a way that resonates with the psychedelic experience.
The Fenris Wolf 8, Trapart, 2016; republished on The Oak Tree Review, 2018 – read it here
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MORE WRITINGS
”Review: The Rose of Paracelsus: On Secrets & Sacraments by William Leonard Pickard”
Psychedelic Press Volume XVI and PsypressUK.com, 2016 – read it here
”Apolitical Pharmacology: From Altruism to Terrorism in Psychedelic Culture”
Psychedelic Press Volume XV, 2016; republished on The Oak Tree Review, 2017 – read it here
”A Brief History of LSD in the Twenty-First Century”
Psychedelic Press UK 2015 Volume III; republished on PsypressUK.com, 2015
”Review: Xenolinguistics by Diana Reed Slattery”
Psychedelic Press UK, 2015
”Review: Reasonances by Carl Abrahamsson”
Psychedelic Press UK, 2014
”Pantheistic Insights: Vegetarianism in Psychedelic Culture”
Reality Sandwich, 2014 – read it here
”Review: Apocalyptic Witchcraft by Peter Grey”
Psychedelic Press UK, 2014
”Northern Trips: A Brief History of Swedish Psychedelia”
PsypressUK 2014 Volume II
”Literary Review: ’Juxtapoz Psychedelic’ by Hannah Stouffer (Ed.)”
Psychedelic Press UK, 2014
”Visionary Design Through the Power of Symbolism: An Exposition of Book Covers in Psychedelic Literature”
The Fenris Wolf 7, Edda Publishing, 2014; republished on The Oak Tree Review as ”Visionary Design: An Exposition of Book Covers in Psychedelic Literature,” 2017 – read it here
Note: The Fenris Wolf 7 features the last published text by late psychedelic researcher Patrick Lundborg.
”The Altered Universe of Iboga: An interview with David Graham Scott”
Psychedelic Press UK, 2014; republished on Reset.me as ”Iboga: The Controversial Psychedelic That Can Cure Addiction,” 2014 -read it here
”Literary Review: ’Mother, Have a Safe Trip’ by Carl Abrahamsson”
Psychedelic Press UK, 2013
”Literary Review: ’Mushroom Magick’ by Arik Roper”
Psychedelic Press UK, 2013
”Seismographic Psychedelia: Reflections on the Direct Influence of Psychedelics on Art”
PsypressUK 2013 Volume 2; republished on PsypressUK.com, 2014; republished on Reset.me as ”Reflections on the Direct Influence of Psychedelics on Art,” 2015; republished in Out of the Shadows: A Cornucopia from the Psychedelic Press as ”Seismographic Art,” Muswell Hill Press, 2015 – read it here
Note: This was my first article in the then newly founded print journal Psychedelic Press UK (aka Psypress UK). The issue also includes pieces from writers/researchers such as Ben Sessa, Andy Roberts, Roger Keen and Stanislav Grof.
”Literary Review: ’The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss’ by Dennis McKenna”
Psychedelic Press UK, 2013
”Literary Review: ’Peyote Hunt’ by Barbara G. Myerhoff”
Psychedelic Press UK, 2013
”Literary Review: ’Psychedelia’ by Patrick Lundborg”
Psychedelic Press UK, 2013; republished on The Oak Tree Review, 2023 – read it here
”Art for the Third Eye: The Visionary Drawings of Emma Kunz”
The Oak Tree Review, 2013 – read it here
”Struck by White Lightning: Owsley on Acid”
The Oak Tree Review, 2012 (interview made in 2003) – read it here
Note: This article was originally titled Struck by White Lightning: A Correspondence with Owsley Stanley.
”The Continuous Trip: An Essay on Deadheads”
The Oak Tree Review, 2012 (the text was originally published in Swedish on the website Tidningen Kulturen, 2011) – read it here
”Yeah, Yeah, Right! Right! Right! On the Bus with Merry Prankster Ken Babbs”
The Oak Tree Review, 2009; republished on Grounded Magnet, 2011 – read it here
”Getting to the Core of Swedish Neo- Shamanism”
The Oak Tree Review, 2009 – read it here
”’Wolfe is Useless’: Owsley Stanley on the Merry Pranksters and the Acid Tests”
The Oak Tree Review, 2009 (interview made in 2003) – read it here
Note: This article was originally titled A Correspondence with Owsley Stanley.
”Tim Scully on the Brotherhood and Making LSD with Bear”
The Oak Tree Review, 2009 (interview made in 2003); republished in Polish in Trans:Wizje no. 2, 2012 – read it here
Note: This article was originally titled A Correspondence with Tim Scully.
”Skip’s Story: The Beginnings of The Brotherhood of Eternal Love”
The Oak Tree Review, 2009 (written in 2003) – read it here