Kenneth Grant in Podcast and Audiobook format

[artilect]

In this mobile media world I can honestly say I have gained some genuine enjoyment and insight into various topics via the audio realm: podcasts, streamed lectures (TED talks, et al), audio interviews and audio books. On the magick side of things, folks such as Gunther, Kaczynski, Churton, Paul Weston, Levenda and Wasserman have turned in some excellent appearances on podcasts over the years.  Kenneth Grant needs some representation in this space; I'm thinking specifically of some of the fabulous talks that I know have taken place at Treadwell's over the years but which us non-UK residents don't ever have a chance to hear. Generally, I like that audio affords me the convenience of continuing to learn and absorb information when I'm out and about: at work, in the car, while exercising, etc.  After all, you can't bring a paper slab with you everywhere; especially expensive collectable paper slabs! 

I am currently re-reading the trilogies after conducting a focused read-through (while making detailed notes where necessary along the way) that I began in University in 2001 and continued through 2009. 

I'm a few chapters into The Magical Revival and was pondering, with consideration well in mind that it may turn out to be true that Kenneth Grant's physical works are powerfully talismanic and simply in their best format as quality crafted and presented paper-based books... I was just giving some thought to... whether the Trilogies could be presented as audio books? 

Could the Trilogies as audiobooks work if the right reader (or readers), ideally being familiar with the work at hand and with the appropriate ability to present the content, was up to the effort?  Would this even be of value to the type of audience that is typically drawn to Grant's works? 

I leave it for discussion, but I wonder if having the ability to load up a recently read chapter in audio format could serve to elucidate and expand the content, which is admittedly dense to begin with.  Could the gematria and links, connections and repeated themes potentially become more apparent if the books were converted from written to spoken text?

[N0T 2]

There's great potential now to explore with the internet obviously as a meta-medium for all other media.

I agree that the medium of spoken word has great potential - we are storytellers, we evolved and to a great extent remain huddled around fireplaces entranced to the sounds, music and imagery of stories put into our minds by the voices of poets. Terence McKenna is classic for the art of yarn-spinning, and speaking was in my view his primary medium,  his books seeming to adumbrate or to prime audiences for particular lecture subjects which "happened to be what he wanted to talk about right now". But the tours were his main gig I think.

Kenneth Grant on the other hand seemed to forego offers to give spoken lectures and the like, from what I understand, preferring the medium of print for his works to work their spells upon readers' more or less prepared minds via the contemplative silence of the printed page. But that is not the same thing as what you suggest, which could include simple audiobook versions of his writings, as well as magical audio.

Personally, as ecstatic as I am about the Starfire reprints, my dream-edition of the Trilogies would be an oversized folio edition, twice to three times the physical dimensions of all former editions, something you can practically sleep on.

That said, if it was done well, and with a very good reader, I would love to have some veritable Aossic Radio at last.

[artilect]

Mar 9, 2015 14:43:17 GMT N0T 2 said:

Terence McKenna is classic for the art of yarn-spinning, and speaking was in my view his primary medium,  his books seeming to adumbrate or to prime audiences for particular lecture subjects which "happened to be what he wanted to talk about right now". But the tours were his main gig I think.

Personally, as ecstatic as I am about the Starfire reprints, my dream-edition of the Trilogies would be an oversized folio edition, twice to three times the physical dimensions of all former editions, something you can practically sleep on.

Love all the McKenna talks! I think I've listened to most if not all of them over the last 15 years or so. 

I think I was probably being overly wordy in the original post (and being a guest can't go back and edit myself), but the main idea is that I am hoping for some discussion and elaboration on Kenneth Grant's work in the podcast realm someday.  I could see a podcast discussion dedicated to each title in the Trilogies... an examination of their core themes, how they interconnect with and relate to the Trilogies as a whole, etc.

As for audiobooks, it's admittedly probably a pie in the sky and not very feasible or desirable idea for books that have relatively low print runs as it is. 

Lastly... the folio idea is an intriguing one.  I wonder why you'd go for oversized though?  Doesn't that make casual reading even more difficult?  I can say that I have the (albeit beautiful) oversized edition of Jung's Red Book, but ended up grabbing a copy of the smaller 'reader's edition' because you simply can't curl up with the large edition.  And it, like Grant's work, is something you want to keep coming back to over the years.

For me, I've always envisioned 'mass market' style reader's editions of each Trilogy (i.e., 3 books in total instead of 9) printed on bible paper.  The Library of America books are good to look at for this (they pack a writer's entire output in one volume -- see the excellent Raymond Carver edition), but something like The Urantia Book is probably most analogous to the heft of what each Trilogy would amount to...2000 pages in one volume.  At least you can take those with you into the world, scribble all over them with pencil and chuck them around a bit.