About this Event
Join us to celebrate The National Year of Reading for a panel discussion with writers Gary Lachman and Travis Elborough, joined by Charlene Coleman from Mayfair Library.
Not many members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are also recognized authorities on the Western inner tradition. Gary Lachman is. In 1978, Blondie released the top-ten hit “(I am Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear.” Gary Lachman (then Gary Valentine) had written the song for his girlfriend after the series of shared dreams and telepathic experiences they had. Thus started his lifelong obsession with the potentials of consciousness.
In this memoir, Lachman recounts how he went from being a successful rock and roller to a writer on consciousness and the Western inner tradition. He shares encounters with rockers such as the Ramones, New York Dolls, Patti Smith, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, and Iggy Pop and also his time with Timothy Leary, William Burroughs, and Allen Ginsberg. Living with Blondie’s Debbie Harry and Chris Stein on New York’s Bowery, a block from CBGB, the birthplace of punk rock, Lachman discovered occultism via a follower of Aleister Crowley.
Post rock and roll, Lachman’s occult studies brought him to the Golden Dawn, Manly P. Hall, Gnosticism, and a stint in Crowley’s O.T.O. He details his time in the Fourth Way, including a visit to the site of Gurdjieff ’s Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man in France, and his years studying philosophy and literature and working as a science writer while managing a famous metaphysical bookshop at the height of the New Age movement. Excursions to Stonehenge, Avebury, and Glastonbury in search of ley lines and pilgrimages to Colin Wilson’s home in Cornwall are a few of the highlights of this introspective, often humorous account of a nascent writer’s struggle from rock and roll to individuation.
The main discussion will be on Gary Lachman's memoir "Touched by the Presence."
Signed copies will be available to purchase.
The event is free, with refreshments provided.
Please note, there is no step free acces to the event.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Mayfair Library, 25 South Audley Street, London, United Kingdom
GBP 0.00
