I was recently interviewed by Eldred Wormwood at The Skeptical Occultist. You can read the interview at their site HERE! (Or just keep reading here…)
BIBLIOTHECA OCCULTURUM – CARL ABRAHAMSSON
Tell me about your library. How many books would you say you have in total? How much of that is occult specific literature? Do you keep your library in a specific room dedicated or spread throughout your home?
My library can seem chaotic, both in terms of contents and order (or lack of it). For me, an ideal, perfectly organised library is an elevated pipe dream and one I would not like to manifest. Paradoxical as it may sound, for me a perfectly organised library is a stagnant thing, like death. My library needs to be filled with life: additions, subtractions and re-shapings, changes of direction and renewed interest. There is no motion of association in perfection. I would estimate that I have 4000 books in my home and I have some stashed away too. Of these, I’d say 500 cover topics such as occultism, religion, mythology and similar things. The walls are covered with shelves from top to bottom in two rooms, and the rest are in piles, wardrobes and windows in other rooms. The fact that I also run a publishing company doesn’t help.
Do you collect any specific type of book? My library tends to lean toward folklore/ethnographic oriented work and non fiction. Is there something you go for more than the rest?
I’m happy to say that I suffer from bibliomania rather than bibliophilia. I love beautiful books and if there is a choice I will buy the more lavish edition. But I don’t collect anything in particular. I’m more of a general devourer. When it comes to the occult stuff, I have moved through phases in life. Thelema has been there all along, as has LaVeyan Satanism and TOPY-related material. Daoism is also something that’s interested me all along, and that I actually keep buying. When it comes to the new generation of occult publishers, I buy selected titles that speak to me. As I grow older, I seem to like older texts and books. Alchemical and cosmic illustrations and illuminations inspire me – and iconography in general – but I don’t feel I specifically have to own the old editions.
Who is your favorite occult author? Any first editions or particularly lovely bindings by said author?
The above mentioned thematic examples would/could mean Crowley (intelligent, but so narcissistic it quickly becomes boring for me now), LaVey (who grew from a cut and paste provocateur to a genuinely real and vital thinker/writer) and material by Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (whose genius has existed in applying art talk to magic and vice versa). Spare was quickly outshone by Nietzsche but once upon a time he was important to me. I don’t think I have any super-rarities. I have Crowley’s autograph from a torn collection of Lord Byron’s poetry he used to own. And a copy of “Equinox of the Gods” that used to belong to Sybil Leek. Most of the LaVey stuff I have signed by him for me, which is great. And the TOPY stuff with Genesis too – and that’s still a continuing and inspirational saga. The magic of books and especially personalised books transcend the occult, as we know. People obsessed with different areas and authors can draw magical power via signed copies of books and items. It’s interesting that it seems to become a “double whammy” (at least unconsciously) among occult book collectors, as it actually seems possible to tap in via the talismanic, signed editions. It isn’t as far-fetched and hocus pocus as it may sound. Consider the difference between a memory of a person and a photograph of that person. And then a signature on that photo. The physicality of that documentation becomes a very tangible gateway. Ditto with not just the book but specifically the signed book.
How much of your book buying comes from in bookstore purchases versus online? What percentage of the books you buy are new versus used?
This varies. Under normal circumstances I’m very busy and hardly have the time to look for things online. So when I go into actual stores in different places I have an ecstatic blast and I do most of my buying there. I have no preference in re: new vs old. If the book interests me, I’ll get it.
Any good occult bookshop stories? Do you have favorite shops you frequent in your travels?
As they’re dwindling, I’ll have to look to memory lane first. Stockholm had two that were totally seminal for me as a youngster: East & West and Vattumannen. That’s really where it all began for me, early 1980s. The latter still exists, but has gone down the new age drain. I had the opportunity to chat with Herman Slater at Magickal Childe in New York way back when, which was fun. The Bodhi Tree in LA was good in the early 90s. I still frequent Watkins, Treadwell’s and Atlantis when in London, and they’re all good. I usually have my UK book events at Atlantis. I’ve been at Catland in New York, and I admire their fighting spirit. Nekropolis in Copenhagen is similarly small but nice. I guess there’s one little watering hole in every civilised city. At least I hope so.
What are you currently reading?
I usually read many books at the same time. Right now I’m churning through Werner Herzog’s “Conquest of the useless”, Ryan & Jetha’s “Sex at dawn”, Ray Bradbury’s “The Illustrated Man”, the essays of Osip Mandelstam, the collected stories of Ben Hecht, Houellebecq’s book on Lovecraft, and Lacan’s “Feminine Sexuality”. That quite accurately describes my focus in life right now, which is as it should be and what books should do.
As the publisher and editor of the Fenris Wolf, what is your perspective on the wider world of occult books, bookbinding and collecting?
I have written about how the current fine book-making is a very integrated part of the occult revival. The books not only contain interesting and inspirational ideas but will continue to do so in the future (when they will also be well needed). It’s not just an indulgent enjoyment to make fine and lasting books but also a very smart strategy for survival. Crowley wanted his system to live on and the Equinox has certainly fulfilled that wish. My own reasons for publishing The Fenris Wolf are similar but decidedly non-sectarian. It seems the focus of most of the publishers is an active transcendence between old and new, in which both are essential parts (for instance, the reverence for old grimoires in combination with social media strategies). There’s also a focus on neo-exoticism in many of them, which is a meta-pragmatic reaction to the “chaotic stasis” of the world in general, and as such a healthy thing. It seems to me that the well-made and beautiful occult books chronicling these teachings and groups have been instrumental in their development and success.
There is rather a renaissance in occult publishing, particularly in terms of fine bindings, happening at the moment. The independents have done so well with it we are even seeing old mainstream stalwarts like Llewellyn putting out slip-cased leather volumes. Any publishers in particular or contemporary volumes you own that you feel are exemplars of this current revival?
The obvious example would be Scarlet Imprint, who produce such beautiful books with such loving determination. It was kind of flabbergasting to see the deluxe of my book Reasonances bound in salmon! Their strata are also intelligent, meaning catering to each kind of purse. The deluxes are super-nice but expensive, and then there’s a sliding scale price wise, although not really sliding in quality. And there are many others too. At Edda Publishing we tried to always make snazzy editions and succeeded quite well. I carry on that mind frame into Trapart Books, but not for its own sake. I want to publish good books, period. But I certainly don’t mind catering to the hardcore collectors at the same time.
With the Fenris Wolf you have been putting that out sporadically since 1989. There are a range of important writers that have contributed to Fenris Wolf over the years, how has the content you are publishing changed or evolved over that time?
Now that it’s an annual venture, I can see it getting more and more eclectic. It’s not meant to be a back-to-back read but rather an accumulation of surprising and inspiring stuff. I want to record and document certain things, people and phenomena, and at the same time discover new writers and new perspectives. You can fit a lot under the magico-anthropological umbrella! The most recent issue, for instance, collects the papers (and more) from a conference that my wife, Vanessa Sinclair, and I organised in London last year: “Psychoanalysis, Art & the Occult”. That was a really nice event. So this particular Fenris is pretty focused on that trio of subjects, whereas the normal mix would contain magics new and old, occulture and psychedelics. I can see it going in many different directions. Number ten will of course be spectacular, as it’s a celebratory issue. Issue number 11 will be slimmer but helpful – it will be an index volume for issues 1-10.
How involved are you in the production of the volumes?
I always work with the same printers, so we have gotten to know each other well, and know what can be done. I’m currently drifting more into art books and that means harder quality control. But the way things are going, I’m very happy. California Infernal: Anton LaVey & Jayne Mansfield as portrayed by Walter Fischer sold out quickly and we will very soon see an expanded edition of that. I’m involved on/in all levels of production, from beginning to end. Sometimes I work with outside people. The LaVey-Mansfield project was one such occasion. There I worked together with the owner of the images so that we were both pleased with the result. But on the whole it’s a pretty solitary affair. The most recent issue of Fenris Wolf was edited together with my wife, and we will definitely make more books together. So I guess I’m branching out. And I’m very fortunate to be married to someone who loves books just as much as I do!
