ruby sara is the editor of the scarlet imprint poetry anthology datura.
an essayist, poet and devotee of dionysos, her work has also appeared in scarlet imprint's devoted.

why is poetry of such importance in magick

because magick does not exist without it. this is, at any rate, my belief.

one of my personal hopes and goals for datura is actually to address this exact question, in an experiential way, so that the reader might make their own bold answer based on their reading/grokking of the text. the interpretation of both magick and poetry is, after all, subject to a high amount of idiosyncrasy.

as for me, i'm personally rather obsessed with the idea that these concepts - poetry, magic, religion, god - are all exceptionally sticky when it comes to defining them, at least for the contemporary postmodern individual, and that there is some mutual kernel at the heart of each of their ineffable, complex characters that unites them in this way.

thus, for me there truly is no difference on a metaphysical level between poetry and magick - they are the same movement, and you cannot have true magick without poetry (or true poetry without magick). poetry is the language of magick, it is magick given voice and form. on a practical level, the human voice is a critical instrument in various manner of spellcraft, as is language...history bears this out thoroughly i think...and in my experience, spellcraft is hugely enhanced by applying to it the music and rhythm and articulate beauty of invocative, resonant poetry.

in devoted you describe the divine inspiration of dionysos unleashing madness, passion and poetry in your life. how dangerous is the creative process for you, and what is your relationship with the god and poetry itself?

my relationship with dionysos does color my own poetry and indeed my very perception of the work - my process is wrapped in beeswax candles, dark wine and hyacinths because that is the god who lords my work. for me he is the muse, the genius.

though it is also true that the somewhat darkly romantic notion of the artist wed to madness is well established. and while i go back and forth as to whether there is or ought to be truth to that archetype (i.e. who does it serve for artists to be expected to be mad?), i do have a hard time denying that there is danger in the creative process. any discipline that requires one to touch the rawness at the heart of the world and then transmute that into form is risky. it's expository, revealing, and terrifying. it's its own form of possessory work in a way - to offer oneself as a vehicle - and there is always the risk of losing grip, of diving too deep or holding too much.

additionally, as those who do work for others know, there is also the matter of the raw self - to open and expose one's emotional and spiritual body to others always runs the risk of being run through, of having your heart broken.

of course, the risk is worth it.

in the same collection (devoted) jack macbeth talks about his work with qutub, as does mark smith in diabolical. poetry is still a central part of modern magickal work. are there any particular poems that you have worked with as part of a devotional or ongoing ritual process?

while i can't say that i've done the same kind of work, i am particularly interested in the work that some do in the parsing of nursery rhymes and traditional ballads. riddling has of course been a part of the history of magickal and occult practice in a lot of ways - and poetry plays a huge part in that. to riddle out the lore or tradition behind a poem, coded in rhyme or obscured by the smoke of silky words, is a demanding discipline with great rewards. larger, complex and multi-layered works can do the same. for me of course, the large part of my devotional practice lies in the writing of poetry, and translates then also into the writing of liturgy - for me, all of the liturgy i write for personal and public ritual is informed by my poetic background. but i believe also that working with poems by others is critical. this extends to poems written with no particular occult purpose in mind as well.

there is worth in a poem if it moves the reader, by which I mean literally moves...a shifting, a dancing happens there. words enter the body and move things around. examining them in relationship to this movement - taking up the invitation to the dance - is beneficial to all pursuers of illumination.

which pagan communities do you see poetry flourishing in?

datura demonstrates that poetry is being written in all manner of traditions and communities, and this is hugely exciting. in my own experience, i see a lot of poetry in feri witchcraft communities, as that particular tradition has a very strong emphasis on the arts, and i have also seen an enormous amount of work lately coming from various pagan reconstructionist communities, as practitioners revive ancient forms of praise and epic poetry. and of course, the celtic reconstructionist and druidry communities also possess a long legacy of sacred poesis, evidenced in the emphasis on bardic arts and the role of the filidecht, which is discussed in datura by erynn rowan laurie.

it's thrilling to see this ongoing flowering of literature in our communities. as we root ourselves in tradition, it becomes even more important to produce art that comes from our experience - and indeed, to produce art that teaches, or is used in ceremony and magickal ritual. it might be there is some of the isness in practice, in ecstasy and the great work, that can only be communicated through art. that makes it all the more important.

ted hughes always advised poets to read poetry aloud; do you have any advice for poets?

well first, i can't argue with reading aloud! reading poetry aloud is probably one of the most important practices a poet can do with their work in my opinion. both publicly and privately. penelope shuttle, whose work I'm extremely excited to include in datura, has said that:

'in my poetry i give primacy to the breath. for me it is the way a poem breathes that gives it form'

that emphasis on movement, breath, rhythm and sound is to me absolutely fundamental. in the writing process, there is an enormous amount to gain in reading your work-in-progress out loud. nuances appear that were previously hidden, and what sounded awfully grand perhaps on the page may sound less so when offered through the voice.

i also happen to believe that poetry is a fundamentally communal art. so while I believe in the importance of writing for the self as well as the power of the truly occult poem (the secret verse known only by its writer is a powerful tool indeed), ultimately I think poetry should be shared. this has the advantage not only of allowing others the privilege of hearing worthy work (of touching the magick there), it also improves one's own work to listen to others and be in collaborative relationship with them and their own poetry.

in that spirit, i also recommend poets seek out others with whom they can give and receive feedback on their poetry in order to improve its quality and hone its effect. one of my personal goals for 2010 is to establish an esoteric literary arts collective in chicago in order to provide a space for pagan and occult poets to gather and review each others' work in an atmosphere that also acknowledges and supports poetry's function as a spiritual and magical endeavor.

what is datura intended to accomplish and what can people expect from it?
how would you like to see people using this book?

datura is intended to collect some of the finest contemporary work by poets in pagan and occult communities. it includes work by well established and accomplished poets such as penelope shuttle and peter redgrove as well as work by prominent voices in the pagan community such as t. thorn coyle and erynn rowan laurie. at the same time it also includes work by emerging writers and poets for whom this is their first published work.

the essays included are both informative and experiential, and it is my hope that the reader comes away not only with a richer vision of pagan and occult literary art, but also a sense of profound inspiration. poetry, in addition to all its other varied gifts, offers the reader (who could also be said to be the imbiber) a cup filled with the wine of experience - a textured, multi-layered glimpse into the heart a world. for the poems in datura, the world being offered for examination is the hidden, unseen gem of the real - the vein of the sun at midnight shot through with the color of the moon. it is intended to open doors, inspire other poets, celebrate the ecstatic, lift up the history of the word.

in my essay in devoted, i wrote,
' a poem that works exists for that purpose. to work. if it bestirs, then it has completed its mission. does it thrust itself like a hand into your chest? then it has succeeded.'

the poetry in datura indeed bestirs - it is my greatest wish that the reader is so moved by the work in datura that they are compelled to read them aloud to others - to use them as fuel for their ecstasy and inspiration in their occult wanderings through the ineffable landscape - the burning ground.


further details about datura can be found here

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