RAW biography now to come out in August 2024

Douglas Rushkoff (Creative Commons photo By FRONT from Belfast, Northern Ireland)

On Facebook, Toby Philpott spots some news: The new Gabriel Kennedy/Prop Anon biography of Robert Anton Wilson is now listed as having a publication date of August 6, 2024.

This is the second time the book has been delayed by Strange Attractor Press; originally, the book was supposed to come out this fall, and then it was delayed until February 2024. I know Prop worked really hard on the book and I really want to read it; I guess we just have to be patient. Perhaps it is a positive sign that Strange Attractor wants to make sure the book is done right. 

On Facebook, Prop replied to Toby that he believes this will be "the last push back." 

The publisher's announcement lists the book as having 304 pages and introductions by Douglas Rushkoff and Grant Morrison. 

Does RAW's work disappear from libraries?

Toby Philpott (from official site.)

My recent post on "Keeping RAW's work alive" didn't get much of a response, but Alias Bogus (aka Toby Philpott) posted a comment recently suggesting that Robert Anton Wilson's work is not much evident in libraries because it tends to get stolen. The library in question is, I believe, in Wales; does this apply to the United States? Here is his comment:

I love libraries, and after a long career as a self-employed performer I got my first steady job as the computer whisperer for my local library, and did that job for about 17 years.

One of the reasons you don't find much of RAW's works in libraries arises from the fact that it (sadly) becomes impossible to hold onto copies. Unlike bookshops, we had no 'store detectives' guarding the stock against shop-lifting, and anyway, people can simply borrow things (quite legally) and just never return the items. It seems that many people these days do not understand the principle of "borrowing", and "shared resources".

Part of my work involved assessing stock turnover, using the computer inventory, and certain kinds of items always disappeared and had to get replaced, until (with many restrictions on budget) several departments simply stop buying new copies of those kind of items.

Generally, cult material, or relatively rare imports. RAW, The Invisibles, Mondo 2000, etc. All sorts of occult and conspiratorial stuff. Also, obscure reference material that you might need for more than three weeks (like silversmith's hallmarks).

Sad, but true.

Email to the Universe PSA

Toby Philpott, an excellent Welsh gentleman who is also known as Bogus Magus and Jabba the Hutt and who has an excellent Illuminatus! studies site, accidentally almost bought the old New Falcon edition of Email to the Universe the other day,  not realizing at first that it wasn't the new Hilaritas Press edition.

This raises an important point, so let me try to clarify the situation. The brand new Email to the  Universe edition is an ebook. A paperback will be announced soon, and when it is, I will post the news here.

Hilaritas Press, the publishing imprint of the Robert Anton Wilson trust, has issued definitive new versions of Cosmic Trigger, Prometheus Rising and Quantum Psychology, in both paperback and as ebooks. These versions have been freshly edited, sport new covers, have additional editorial goodies and you can be sure that all the proper royalties are going to Robert Anton Wilson's heirs.

These should be the preferred editions for RAW fans. The new version of Email to the Universe, for example, has a wonderful new preface by Michael Johnson giving the "hidden history" behind the book, and an afterword by Paul Krassner.

Here is the planned publication order for the new editions the estate controls, if you want to get an idea for how long you'll have to wait for the new version.

1 ~ Cosmic Trigger I: The Final Secret of the Illuminati (1977)
2 ~ Prometheus Rising (1983)
3 ~ Quantum Psychology (1990)
4 ~ Email to the Universe (2005)
5 ~ Coincidance: A Head Test (1988)
6 ~ The Earth Will Shake (1982)
7 ~ The Widow’s Son (1985
8 ~ Nature’s God (1988)
9 ~ Cosmic Trigger II: Down to Earth (1992)
10 ~ Cosmic Trigger III: My Life After Death (1995)
11 ~ Sex, Drugs and Magick: A Journey Beyond Limits (1988)
12 ~ The New Inquisition (1986)
13 ~ Ishtar Rising (1989)
14 ~ Reality Is What You Can Get Away With (1992)
15 ~ Wilhelm Reich in Hell (1987)
16 ~ The Walls Came Tumbling Down (1997)
17 ~ TSOG: The Thing That Ate the Constitution (2002)
18 ~ Natural Law, or Don’t Put a Rubber on Your Willy (1987)
19 ~ Chaos and Beyond (1994)

Incidentally, here is Toby's website, where you can read about his career as a street juggler, movie puppeteer, author, librarian and circus archivist.

Assorted links

Interesting article on Aaron Swartz by Tim Carmody (hat tip, Timothy Lee.)

Maybe Logic review of JMR Higgs' book on the KLF (and RAW).

Toby Philpott posting on "The Great Secret." ("Can it be that the great, supreme secret is absolute agnosticism?")

Bobby Campbell cover art for new edition of Zen Without Zen Masters by Camden Benares.

John Crowley on Giordano Bruno. (Hat tip, Supergee).

A link between the KLF and Twin Peaks? Maybe not.