Author R&R with Joscelyn Godwin

Educated at Cambridge and Cornell, Joscelyn Godwin, Ph.D., is the author, editor, and translator of more than 30 books, including The Greater and Lesser Worlds of Robert Fludd, and was a professor of music at Colgate University for more than 40 years until his retirement in 2016. In addition to being a composer, musicologist, and translator, he's also known for his work on ancient music, paganism and music in the occult.

In this edition of Author R&R (Research and Reference) for In Reference to Murder, Joscelyn Godwin, co-author of Forbidden Fruits, discusses the inspiration behind writing this "occult novel": a murder mystery with themes of European high life, enthogenic drugs, and ancient archaeology. 

WRITING THE FORBIDDEN FRUITS    

Guido Mina di Sospiro and I started writing Forbidden Fruits while our first collaborative novel, The Forbidden Book was appearing in seven languages, but before it came out in English (Disinformation Books/RedWheel Weiser, 2013). As before, we plotted the novel in long phone conversations, after which each would write a section—anything from a paragraph to a chapter— then send it to the other for criticism and improvement. We did spend a few momentous days together in the DC area, during which we brainstormed with abandon and, among other things, decided to incorporate two engravings from Johann Georg Gichtel’s 1682 edition of the works of Jacob Böhme, which can be found in the book itself. The plot, of course, changed as we went and brought us some surprises as we got to know the characters better. Over a year the pieces were assembled, smoothed over, and given a unified voice. Then, under the aegis of a literary agent in London, the whole thing was cut down by a third. One lesson I have learned is that if I especially admire something I’ve just written, it should be instantly ditched, like that luscious dessert one really shouldn’t have eaten.

Guido has written many novels as well as what the French call belles lettres: articles, opinion pieces, and the unclassifiable The Metaphysics of Ping Pong, a work of narrative non-fiction. His oeuvre leans toward fantastic realism and contrarian philosophy, which appeal to me too. I have mostly written the lighter sort of academic book, on subjects like Renaissance paganism, the Harmony of the Spheres, the myths of Atlantis, eccentric religious and spiritual movements. My job seems to be to digest difficult but fascinating materials, often in foreign languages, for the benefit of curious readers with less time on their hands.

The occult themes in both novels draw on this experience. For instance, in this book the Maltese “Society of Harmony” that experiments with child mediums (cringe!) has parallels in real occult orders. The “Golden Pomegranate” (one of the “forbidden fruits”) is inspired by the current revisioning of prehistory. And the characters’ use of entheogenic fungi re-enacts rituals of the ancient alchemists and esoteric religious groups.

Together with a very unexpected murder, and the dual setting in Malta and Rome, this makes for what we hope is an alluring mix. But hovering over it, or as we might say the book’s moral backbone, is a truly serious matter: the immigration crisis, as people flee from poor and war-torn countries in the hope of a better life. How all this is woven together remains for the reader to discover.

 

You can learn more about the author's writings and other work via this link. Forbidden Fruits is available from Simon & Schuster and via all major booksellers.