Dale Pendell (April 14, 1947 – 13 January 2018) was an American poet, ethnobotanist, and novelist. Writing in an evocative style all his own, he fused
science
Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...
,
folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
, and
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
in describing the relationship between psychoactive plants and human beings. A long time student of
ethnobotany, Pendell discussed historical and cultural uses of "power plants" in his works. He read and distilled the literature of pharmacology and neuroscience, of ethnobotany and anthropology, of mythology and political economics as they intersect with the direct experience of human psychoactive use.
His publications include the Pharmako Trilogy: ''Pharmako/Poeia'' (1994), ''Pharmako/Dynamis'' (2002), and ''Pharmako/Gnosis'' (2005), all published by
Mercury House. He covered all the major categories of psychoactives and detailed the use, the pharmacology, the chemistry, the political and social historical implications and effects of the use of psychoactives.
He was also a myth critic. Certain of his works comment on the origins of cultural myths.
Pendell also delved into politics, introducing the concept of "Horizon anarchism" at his
Burning Man 2006 Palenque Norte lecture.
Podcast 055, "Horizon anarchism", Burning Man, 2006
/ref>
Bibliography
*''The Gold-Dust Wilderness'' (1971)
*''Physics for the Heart'' (1985)
*''Chasing the Cranes'', with Steve Sanfield, (1986)
*''City Limits Blues'' (1986)
*''Rough Cuts & Kindling'' (1986)
*''Swirling'' (1986)
*''Mokujiki: Thirteen Tanka'', with Kazuaki Tanahashi, (1988)
*''Pharmako/Poeia: Plant Powers, Poisons, and Herbcraft'' (1995, Mercury House)
*''Living With Barbarians: A Few Plant Poems'' (1999)
*''Pharmako/Dynamis: Stimulating Plants, Potions, & Herbcraft'' (2002, Mercury House)
*''Pharmako/Gnosis: Plant Teachers and the Poison Path'' (2006, Mercury House)
*''Inspired Madness: the Gifts of Burning Man'' (2006)
*''Walking with Nobby, Conversations with Norman O. Brown'' (2008, Mercury House)
*''The Language of Birds, Some Notes on Chance and Divination'' (2009)
*''The Great Bay: Chronicles of the Collapse'' (2010) (2010, North Atlantic Books
North Atlantic Books is a non-profit, independent publisher based in Berkeley, California, United States. Distributed by Penguin Random House Publisher Services, North Atlantic Books is a mission-driven social justice-oriented publisher. Founded ...
)
*''Equations of Power'' (2013)
*''Salting the Boundaries'' (2014)
*''Seeking Faust'' (2014)
*''Jeremy and the Mantis'' (2018, Mercury House)
References
External links
Official site & blogErowid's Dale Pendell vaultErowid review of Pharmako/Gnosis'Magical Practice'
a discussion with Dale at the World Psychedelic Forum, Basel, 2008 (MP3 available)
Dreamflesh.com review of Pharmako/Poeia
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2018 deaths
American psychedelic drug advocates
Psychedelic drug researchers
1947 births