James Penner - Timothy Leary: The Harvard Years: Early Writings on LSD and Psilocybin with Richard Alpert, Huston Smith, Ralph Metzner, and others

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TIMOTHY LEARY

THE HARVARD YEARS

Timothy Learys pivotal role in 1960s drug culture often led to his being scorned and caricatured by the mass media. James Penners superb collection of Learys writings from his Harvard years peels away the layers of polemic and myth that surround Leary and enable us to confront his core ideas that helped to shape the counterculture. This is an important book for everyone who wants to understand Leary and the cultural rebellion of the 1960s.

ROBERT COHEN, PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND SOCIAL STUDIES AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY

This book is a must for any serious student of psychedelics as well as those who would like to understand the full Leary, not just the media parody version that he seemed to become in his post-Harvard years. Here he comes across as a serious scientist, a committed reformer. Penners excellent introductions place each paper in its historical context.

JAMES FADIMAN, MICRODOSE RESEARCHER AND AUTHOR OF THE PSYCHEDELIC EXPLORERS GUIDE: SAFE, THERAPEUTIC, AND SACRED JOURNEYS

James Penners Timothy Leary: The Harvard Years is not only a brilliant work of scholarship but a powerful and persuasive reexamination of the foundation for some of the most important and exuberant thinking of the 1960s and 70s. Penners own admirable introductions and thorough editorial work allow us to see Leary as a radical and vital intellectual, not just a cultural phenomenon; as a writer unafraid of risks, certainly, but also able to build humane and moving research projects built on science and on hope. This is a major, long-overdue book.

JAMES R. KINCAID, PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AND AUTHOR OF CHILD-LOVING, ANNOYING THE VICTORIANS, AND EROTIC INNOCENCE

The brilliantly designed experiments that Timothy Leary and his team performed with psilocybin, LSD, and DMT between 1960 and 1963 while at Harvards Center for Research in Personality laid the foundation for the revolution we are presently witnessing in psychedelic medicine and science. James Penner has performed a valuable service by gathering and evaluating these essential, difficult-to-find research papers while providing historical context for the academic scandal that erupted in the wake of these experiments.

MICHAEL HOROWITZ, COAUTHOR OF MOKSHA: ALDOUS HUXLEYS CLASSIC WRITINGS ON PSYCHEDELICS AND THE VISIONARY EXPERIENCE AND AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF TIMOTHY LEARY

What a fantastic service James Penner provides with his collection of writings by Timothy Leary and friends in Timothy Leary: The Harvard Years. Leary emerges here... as a writer of great relevance today, with an earnest and passionate voice.

SIDNEY HOMAN, PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA AND ACTOR, DIRECTOR, AND AUTHOR

This is a great book! Ive always been curious about Learys earlier, more scholarly work, which has real substance to it. I never thought about it as a focus for a book, but its blindingly obvious now that James Penner has done it.

MARCUS BOON, AUTHOR OF THE ROAD OF EXCESS: A HISTORY OF WRITERS ON DRUGS AND PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH AT YORK UNIVERSITY

But the man who comes back through the Door in theWall will never be the same as the man who went out.

ALDOUS HUXLEY,
THE DOORS OF PERCEPTION

Acknowledgments

This book grew out of my chapter on the 1960s in Pinks, Pansies, and Punks (2011). As I began to collect all of Learys scholarly work from the early 1960s, I was amazed that it was out-of-print and so hard to find. Using Michael Horowitzs An Annotated Bibliography of Timothy Leary (1987), I gradually acquired everything from the early 1960s that was available. I also learned that some of his work (The Existential Transaction [Psychological Consultation Service, 1960]) has been completely lost. Timothy Leary: The Harvard Years attempts to put the various fugitive texts from the early 1960s together in one volume. Assembling this book was a slow and arduous process, and I certainly could not have done it alone. I would like to thank all of my friends and colleagues who contributed to the publication of this book.

The journey begins with Michael Horowitz. Michael and Cynthia Palmer created one of my favorite books in the world: Aldous Huxleys Moksha: Classic Writings on the Psychedelic and Visionary Experience (Inner Traditions, 1983). Moksha was my model text for Timothy Leary: The Harvard Years. When I first conceived of the project, Michael read my book proposal and gave me valuable advice and guidance. I am very grateful for Michaels kind support.

I am also much indebted to Denis Berry of The Futique Trust and the Timothy Leary Estate. Right from the beginning, Denis was enthusiastic about my book project and the idea of creating a book that sheds light on Learys scholarly work from the early 1960s. I am very grateful for Deniss gracious and generous support. I look forward to the day when I can send her a copy of Timothy Leary: The Harvard Years.

I would also like to thank all my colleagues at the University of Puerto Rico. During the early stages of the writing process, I received two TARES (research grants) that enabled me to put this book together. In particular, I would like to thank my English Department Chair, Dr. Cynthia Pittman, for supporting both of my TARE proposals and for giving me a teaching schedule that aided my writing schedule. Cynthias enthusiasm for this project has always been refreshing. I would also like to thank our previous Department Chair, Dr. Denise Lopez Mazzeo, for supporting my research projects and for being a great friend and colleague. During my time at UPR, Denise has been a great friend and colleague. I also would like to thank the colleagues and friends who read drafts of my proposal and introduction: Madeleine Vala, Don Walicek, and Mark Wekander. Before this book was completed, Mark embarked on the greatest trip of all. Mark will always be remembered for his kindness and enthusiasm. I especially cherish my very last meetings with him.

Timothy Leary: The Harvard Years was a book that was written in two places: San Juan and Los Angeles. During my summer trips to Los Angeles, I often worked with friends and colleagues from the University of Southern California. I am grateful for the help I received from two expert librarians at USC: Claude Zachary and Ross Scimeca. Ross was always willing to track down the fugitive texts that I couldnt find on my own. Ross also took the time to mail copies to San Juan. I also want to thank my very good friend George Skarpelos for his expertise and enthusiasm. Georges help was crucial in the early stages of this book. He first introduced me to Optical Character Technology (OCR). Without OCR, this project would have taken many years to complete. I also want to thank George for walking me through the maze of copyright law and for directing me to the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database. I also would like to thank an extremely important reader of my manuscript: Jeff Solomon. Jeff read my Introduction and Afterword very closely and offered several pivotal suggestions. Jeff has been a wonderful friend and a close reader of my work for the last twelve years. His editorial advice and insight have been invaluable to me.

I am also deeply grateful for the support I have received from Inner Traditions. First, I would like to thank Jon Graham for endorsing Timothy Leary: The Harvard Years