The Hallucinogenic Spectrum
Using literary tools in writing is one thing, but using drugs is another. While accompanied by suddenly conjured objects, exaggerated viewings, and vivid colors, writers have a whole new set of assets that they can use. According to Ann Charters, “McClure wrote his ‘Peyote Poem’ while experimenting with psychedelics as a means of psychic liberation” (Charters 264). Typically I want to look for the poet’s literary tools in their writings, but this time I was looking for any sense of him being under the influence. With that not-so-important side quest in the back of mind, I instead noticed a peculiar theme in McClure’s writings, an emphasis on color. McClure uses vivid colors in his poetry as a way of describing what he is picturing in his head. This branches into many areas where he writes, but it is very prominent throughout the “Peyote Poem.” From the very beginning, McClure brings attention to,
“a golden bed radiating all light, / the air is full of silver hangings and sheathes” (McClure 265).
Almost immediately, McClure incorporates vivid colors into what he is attempting to describe, thus making it much easier to gain an idea of what McClure has conjured up in his head. A major takeaway from this color incorporation is that it implies that McClure was having a very typical and yet powerful experience from his hallucinogens. There are later examples of this as later on. In reference to a cliff and a twilight, McClure says,
“Green grass over the stone, / pink auras of neon” (McClure 268).
Not only does he say the typical colors of these certain things, but adds terms like “auras” and “neon” to add the vibrant nature he is trying to convey. In addition, when he is not trying to do something like this, he incorporates as much color as he can. Upon talking about being “IN THE YELLOW KITCHEN” he almost instantly brings attention to more color, talking about how “looking at the face of the red clock” (McClure 270). Color is one of the fundamental aspects of sight. Wherever you look, there is color, and McClure actively chose to bring that to the page and make it easier to picture. No matter what, Michael McClure used color at seemingly every opportunity as a core factor of his writing style. As he literally says, “COLOR IS A REALITY” (McClure 271).
Charters, Ann. The Portable Beat Reader. New York, N.Y., Penguin Books, 1992, pp. 264–287.
