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July 11, 2006
Plant medicine
So Barry and I saw Dale Pendell, the author of a trilogy called Pharmako, speak at Moe's Books in Berkeley tonight. He read from the third book, Pharmako/Gnosis, and answered a couple questions.
I had never heard of him before seeing info about one of his events on squidlist... I wasn't able to make it, or any of the others that were listed on the publisher's site at the time... so when this one came up and I could make it, I was determined to just out of sheer stubbornness.
So I bought the book. Pendell is a poet and writer, and the books came out of an idea he had in the 70s (while tripping) to write a book that was to be entitled something like "A Guide to Drugs for Poets". This isn't quite that... the subtitle is Plant Teachers and the Poison Path. It covers a lot of interesting plants, and he's tried to let the essence of each type of experience come through. In addition to being a poet, he's part botanist, anthropologist, and historian.
My first favorite quote from the book: "Hey, you! I've got the [talking] stick. Shut up."
Anyway, he did a good job, told funny and interesting stories, read his own work well, and didn't plummet to his death off the pedestal the guy who intro'd him put him on, comparing him to Paraclesus and Lao Tazu.
Most interesting question and answer: "I've heard Aldous Huxley was on acid as he died. Would you want to be under the influence at the time of your death, and if so, which substance?" to which Pendell responded, "No... I think there will be enough to deal with."
Posted by Josh A. at July 11, 2006 12:20 AM