Here’s video of the presentation by John Constable (aka John Crow) at Trans States Conference 2, “Acid Mediumship: Goose and Crow.” The posted description says:
“On 23rd November 1996, the writer John Constable embarked on an epic work of automatic writing: The Southwark Mysteries. These poems, plays and esoteric texts were revealed in a vision to his shamanic alter-ego John Crow by The Goose, the spirit of a sex worker from Southwark’s medieval Liberty of the Clink. Since then, The Goose’s revelations have guided a 23-year campaign to reclaim and rededicate the Cross Bones burial ground. They have also birthed an entire magical praxis, informed by a vision of Liberty as the true state of the unconditioned mind. In this off-beat, engaging talk-performance, Constable explores the influence of ‘an heroic dose of LSD’ on the genesis of the work and how The Goose initiated John Crow into her idiosyncratic system of mediumship. He also considers how to prepare and protect oneself when using psychedelic sacraments. The talk is illustrated by a slideshow depicting the transformation of Crossbones from a derelict industrial wasteland into a world-famous pilgrimage site and garden of remembrance. John will also perform excerpts from The Book of the Goose, the first of the visionary ‘books’ of The Southwark Mysteries. This apocalyptic poem shape-shifts from archaic ballad through to contemporary rap, from bawdy humour to transcendental contemplation. The Goose leads John Crow through the back streets of Southwark, on the south bank of The Thames, on a spirit journey through 2,000 years of her secret history. In Her own words: “It must have given you a start to find me so lysergic, dear!” The poem culminates in a vision of healing and transformation.
“John Constable is a playwright, poet, performer and urban shaman. His plays include The Southwark Mysteries, performed in Shakespeare’s Globe and Southwark Cathedral. Solo plays include I Was An Alien Sex God and Spare, inspired by the life and work of Austin Osman Spare. He is also known as John Crow, the street shaman who raised the spirit of The Goose at Cross Bones, south London’s outcasts’ graveyard. In this persona, he conducts The Halloween of Cross Bones and the vigils at Cross Bones, where he curates a shrine and a garden of remembrance. He has performed at festivals from Latitude to Glastonbury, where he is a regular house-act at the Underground Piano Bar. His Sha-Manic Plays, The Southwark Mysteries and his stage adaptation of Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast are published by Oberon Books. Spark In The Dark is published by Thin Man Books. John’s shamanic work at Crossbones was the subject of The Spirits of Crossbones Graveyard by Professor Sondra Hausner and features in Watling Street by John Higgs. John Constable also gives talks on art, magic and mysticism.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRiXmcvjjCg.
