The road of excess: a history of writers on drugs
Choice Reviews Online July 1, 2003 DOI: 10.5860/choice.40-6236 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Literary works and writers |
| Keywords | Literature |
| Citations | 148 |
| Key points | Argues that psychoactive substances have historically been used by writers to facilitate altered states of consciousness and literary creativity, reflecting cultural tensions between transcendence and addiction. |
Abstract
Prologue 1. Addicted to Nothingness: Narcotics and Literature 2. The Voice of the Blood: Transcendentalism and Anesthetic Revelation 3. The Time of the Assassins: Cannabis and Literature 4. Induced Life: Stimulants and Literature 5. The Imaginal Realms: Psychedelics and Literature Epilogue Bibliography Notes Acknowledgments Illustration Credits Index