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5 Masterpieces of Drug-inspired Literature

The following is a collection of some of the most beautiful literature inspired by mind-altering substances. In the canon of drug lit, the focus here is on some of the most innocent travelers.

The following is a collection of some of the most beautiful literature inspired by mind-altering substances. In the canon of drug lit, the focus here is on some of the most innocent travelers. Most of these writers came to trip accidentally and had little previous knowledge of what they were in for. I believe this innocence is part of what makes these works masterpieces:

Confessions of an English Opium Eater

by Thomas De Quincey

First published in 1821, this autobiography beautifully documents De Quincey's night walks through London as he experienced bizarre hallucinations and disturbing visions while taking the pain-killer laudanum. With his unique ability to use his drug trips as a door to his artistic unconscious, he inspired later generations of more well-known drug writers, like William S. Burroughs and Ken Kesey. De Quincey artfully links dreams, memories and the raw creative process in this inspired memoir; however, he also accurately depicts his struggle with the nightmares, despair and paranoia associated with talking laudanum. It has been noted that he anticipated psychoanalysis in this work with his insights into the subconscious.

Diary of a Hasheesh Eater

by Fitz Hugh Ludlow

In 1857 while using a cannabis extract, Ludlow observed: "My pen glanced presently like lightning in the effort to keep neck and neck with my ideas," It has been documented since that some people with bipolar disorder experience a paradoxical or manic state after consuming cannabis. It seems Ludlow may have had this type of experience while experimenting with hasheesh. [Some readers who have had a typical response to cannabis (i.e., mellowing out) have questioned the veracity of Ludlow's wild descriptions.] The Hasheesh Eater is rife with poetic prose and philosophical flights of fancy. Ludlow describes the cannabis user as one who is reaching for "the soul's capacity for a broader being, deeper insight, grander views of Beauty, Truth and Good..." The explorations of altered states of consciousness in The Hasheesh Eater are eloquent descriptions of a very private, subjective psychological journey. The result is often surreal, bizarre, and beautiful. His mental state took a great toll from the excessive uses of hasheesh, and he untimately warns his reader: "Ho there! pass by; I have tried this way; it leads at last into poisonous wildernesses." Ludlow devoted the last years of his life attempting to improve the treatment of opiate addicts. Diary of a Hasheesh Easter is Ludlow's best-known book.

Les Paradis Artificiels (Artificial Paradises)

by Charles Baudelaire

In 1860 the poet Baudelaire published this short work describing his experiences with opium and hashish. In what today may seem naïve, this psychedelic pioneer theorized that widespread drug tripping could lead mankind into an ideal state. It is clear in his prose, he was heavily influenced by Thomas De Quincey; however, the great poet writes with his own unique flare and enthusiasm in this philosophical work. Baudelaire asserts what has occurred to many modern-day stoners: "Common sense tells us that the things of the earth exist only a little, and that true reality is only in dreams."

Doors of Perception, Heaven and Hell

By Aldous Huxley

The author of Brave New World experimented with mescaline in the early 1950s: a time when few people, beside indigenous tribes' people, had ever even heard of it much less had the temerity to consume it. He deftly describes this mind-expanding experience in a brilliant and original essay/diary-entry style. In his altered state, Huxley perceives a platonic archetypal quality to each thing in the world and waxes poetically as only a literary genius can. These two essays, published in 1954 and 1956, influenced generations of psychedelic adventurers and famously inspired the name of the band, The Doors.

The Teachings of Don Juan, A Yaqui Way of Knowledge

by Carlos Castenada

Castenada's books have created both a cult following and myriad detractors. Some readers see him as a quasi-religious leader; others, as a faker: charging his books as mere fiction, and his described experiences, as a ridiculous fantasy. This controversial book, first published in 1968, reveals the drug experience to be a decidedly spiritual pursuit. Castenada describes psychedelic plants like mescalito, or peyote, as an avenue to the spirit world where living creatures can be seen as flowing colors; and where one may take form as their own animal totem or opposite gender spirit. The ability to fly, to gain greater strength and knowledge are also gifts of mescalito available to the disciple according to this writer. These shamanic arts are described as attainable without the use of drugs in Castenada's later books.

AND ONE FROM THE VISUAL ARTS:

Ayahuasca Visions: The Religious Iconography of a Peruvian Shaman

by Pablo Amaringo, Dennis McKenna and Luis Eduardo Luna

When Peruvian artist Amaringo was 17 he became ill, nearly dying from severe heart problems. Eventually he was cured by a local healer with the use of ayahuasca, psychoactive infusions prepared from the Banisteriopsis vine, native to the Amazon rainforest. It was during this period, he started to draw and paint for the first time. He drew with pencil and shaded with soot from lamps onto cardboard boxes. He began to add color with blue Permatexx, which a local auto-industry worker gave to him. During this period, he also discovered a shamanic gift for healing, and when he became strong enough, traveled sharing this new gift. Dennis McKenna and Luis Eduardo Luna met Pablo in 1985 and suggested he paint some of his shamanic, ayahuasca-inspired visions which became this book of brilliant colors, images and ingenious compositions.