Datura

Contents

Preface
Ruby Sara

The Poetry of Magic
Paul Newman

Becoming Poetry
Erynn Rowan Laurie

My Grandmother’s Hands: Defixiones and the poetic process
John Harness

Mead and Ravens
Mr. VI

Charm Maker: Lover’s Speculation and Inbreath
Ruby Sara

Shimmer, Sparkle, Spin and Burn
Veronica Cummer

And the work of 26 poets:

Ruby Sara; Penelope Shuttle; Peter Redgrove; Caroline Carver; Paul Newman; John Harness; Christopher Greenchild; Paul Holman; T. Thorn Coyle; Mr. VI; Geo Athena Trevarthen; ∼Ariel; Veronica Cummer; Erynn Rowan Laurie; Sara Amis; Chris Page; Michael Routery; D.B Myrrha; Elizabeth Vongvisith; Anna Elizabeth Applegate; David Trevarthen; Pamela Smith-Rawnsley; P. Sufenas Virius Lupus; Rebecca Buchanan; Patricia Cram; & Mark Saucier.

Précis

Datura: Explorations in Esoteric Poesis is an elegant collection comprising the work of 26 leading poets from the occult and pagan communities, accompanied by six essays on the agony and ecstasy of the creative process.

The lady of moth and moon unfurls her shy and deadly petals. These navigators of the midnight sea – occultists and poets and devotees seeking after that which seduces them – are familiar with the dream of intoxication that follows her scent. She is the woman in the song, the night-blooming narcotic, gorgeous and strange. She is the horned blossom, the guardian of the threshold, the keeper of madness.

This collection includes recognised major poets, we are indebted in particular to Penelope Shuttle for her contribution and that of Peter Redgrove. From triadic rubaiyat to sestina, acrostic, lyric, free verse and praise hymn this is poetry in full flower.

Datura contains modern published poets alongside new writers whose work shows them strong enough to keep such company. This is a literate and narcotic text which will inspire both ritual practice and further incursions into living poetry.