DEAD HAND
The Science of Automatic Writing in Mid-Victorian London with Robert Dickins
At Brompton Cemetery Chapel on Sunday 27th October 2019 at 3:00 pm

Why would someone choose to write or draw and then claim not to be the author of those words or images? During the 1850s, an increasing amount of people began to practice what was variously described as writing mediumship, automatic writing, or passive writing. Those writers claimed that the authority of their words belonged not to them, but to the dead. This talk will explore the notion that relinquishing authorship paradoxically imbued the practitioner with new forms of spiritual authority - forms that challenged orthodox hierarchies in the home, the church, and wider society. It was a time when the dead took a role in democratising the power of the living.

Tickets £12 including a delightful gin cocktail.

Robert Dickins
Robert Dickins is a historian, writer and editor. He is the founder of the Psychedelic Press, co-director of the Psychedelic Museum, and is currently undertaking his PhD at Queen Mary, University of London. His research interests focus on the history and literature of psychedelic substances, and the role of writing in spiritual and magical traditions during the 19th century. He is also the author of the novel ‘Erin'.

 

The Venue - Brompton Cemetery