My thanks to ormyritus…

Roger Hutchinson on ALEISTER CROWLEY The Beast Demystified

31st October 2009
Doors at 6 pm - Lecture commences at 7 pm
Mare Street, London

Often referred to as the "wickedest man alive," Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) had a shocking reputation. Stories abound of drugs, orgies, sacrificial ceremonies, and the tragic deaths of those who associated with him. His early life, however, was one of considerable achievement. One of the most accomplished mountain climbers of his generation, he was also the friend and literary model to a host of celebrated figures. An early convert to eastern philosophies, Crowley attempted to replace Western Christianity with his own brand of religion-most notably through his writings and his commune in Sicily. Addicted to opiates, hounded by the press, and pursued through the courts, the tribulations of his later years would have ruined a lesser man. This biography presents the "Great Beast" for the first time as an accessible figure: a flawed, egotistical individual who left an indelible mark on his era.

Roger Hutchinson was born and brought up in the north of England. During the 1970s he worked as a journalist in London, editing the underground magazines Oz, International Times and Time Out.

In 1977 he moved to Skye to join the staff of the radical weekly West Highland Free Press. His bestselling and highly acclaimed ‘Calum’s Road’, described as “destined to become a minor classic”, was shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature’s Ondaatje Prize in 2008 and is being filmed for the big screen by Handmade Films.

His controversial biography of Aleister Crowley, ‘The Beast Demystified’ - "the only life of Crowley not to have been written by an acolute" - was published in 1998 and continues to sell widely in Britain and the USA.

Lecture at 11 Mare Street - Please click here for tickets £5 each:

http://www.thelasttuesdaysociety.org/crowley.html