Thursday, January 22, 2009

Master of the Interview

Q: What do Jack Kevorkian, Annie Sprinkle, Noam Chomsky, George Carlin and Tim Leary have in common?

A: They've all been interviewed by David Jay Brown.

David's also interviewed Ram Dass, Terence McKenna, Fakir Musafar, John Mack, Allen Ginsberg, Robert Anton Wilson, Laura Huxley, Dean Radin, Jerry Garcia and dozens of other famous "mavericks of the mind"--the title of his first interview collection. Besides "Mavericks of the Mind", Dave's interview books include "Mavericks of Medicine", "Voices from the Edge" and "Conversations on the Edge of the Apocalypse". Fans of David Jay Brown, Master of the Interview, have placed some of his best conversations online.

David Jay Brown has written sci-fi novels, articles for magazines as varied as "Scientific American" and "High Times" and he has collaborated with Rupert Sheldrake, controversial author of "Seven Experiments That Could Change the World" on some of these potentially world-changing investigations. Dave is currently the guest editor of the MAPS Bulletin where he's completing yet one more collection of interviews--this one focusing on psychedelics. MAPS is an organization whose goal is to help President Obama formulate a more humane and rational policy towards psychedelic substances. 

As a good anthropologist, Dave necessarily immerses himself in the unusual life styles of the people he interviews. And, as a good writer, Dave takes notes. Not only notes about other people but notes about his own colorful life. Those of us who know Dave have been encouraging him to mine his many journals for what could be the most in-depth and engaging interview of his career: "Life on the Psychedelic Mississippi: the Adventures of David Jay Brown".

Oh. yes. Long ago Dave Brown interviewed Nick Herbert for "Mavericks of the Mind". I was one of David's first contactees. Not only an excellent summary of my mission in life but the first and only time Nick's appeared between the same covers as Allen Ginsberg.

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