On the Road with Penguin Classics Confessions of an English Opium Eater with Will Self
Sep 29, 2022
Will Self, an acclaimed novelist and essayist known for his memoir 'Will,' joins the conversation to delve into the opium-soaked worlds of Thomas de Quincey and William S. Burroughs. They explore the intertwining themes of pleasure and pain in addiction, address the gothic implications of drug culture, and reflect on how personal struggles shape identity. With a humorous lens, they traverse London's literary landscape, examining the evolution of drug narratives and the socio-political undertones surrounding addiction.
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Opium Recast As Exotic Experience
- De Quincey's Confessions transformed opium from common medicine to exotic mind-altering substance in British imagination.
- The book also established his literary reputation and influenced writers like Poe.
Two Impulses Behind Drug Memoirs
- Drug memoirs mix confessional Christian arcs and mystical transcendence into one genre, Will Self argues.
- This dual impulse links Augustine, Rousseau, De Quincey and later psychedelic accounts.
Where De Quincey First Tried Opium
- Henry and Will stand opposite the Pantheon site where De Quincey first bought opium for toothache in 1804.
- Opium was then sold widely in patent medicines and by ordinary retailers.