Born 26 July 1894 in Godalming, UK, Huxley died in Los Angeles on 22 November 1963. That was also the day that CS Lewis passed away; of course their passings were lost in the international coverage of President John F. Kennedy's assassination.
When I was in high school one could actually be assigned to read Brave New World without parents complaining about their precious children being corrupted. I also read his essay Brave New World Revisited written in 1958 during that senior year when I was allowed to read int he library most of the time for English class.
On my first trip to Europe I found a West German translation of The Doors of Perception (Die Pforten der Wahrnehmung). The book also gave Jim Morrison the name for his band. I found the book fascinating, but was not about to start using mescaline or anything like that.
When I returned to the States I read Point Counter Point and was thoroughly taken by it. A few years later in Orange County, California, I met a young woman who had met Huxley a few times. She was a fascinating person who lost her husband to asthma and was raising a young daugt
It was during that time at University of California-Irvine that I heard Christopher Isherwood, another friend of Huxley's who is best-known for writing the short story on which Caberet was based.
I will add a link of some of Huxley;s quotes, and also a section of a poem I met about meeting that young woman. Since I want to submit the poem for publication, I cannot post the entire text, but a little bit should be all right. I hate mentioning that I wrote a poem without sharing any of it.
An informal gathering at someone’s house
Nestled on a Los Angeles canyon:
Over her walnut soup, Huxley’s
Razor-sharp Oxonian clarity
Impressed her and her late husband.
A kaleidoscope of images
Surged through my mind
As she talked of Huxley:
Reading the major novels
In high school library,
Finding others at university
Outside of classes and keg parties,
Wandering through Central Europe
With German translation of
The
Doors of Perception
And its mescaline-fueled mysticism
At the World’s Biggest Drugstore.
Arthur Turfa ©2014
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/aldous_huxley.html
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