Books by Matthew Clark

The ancient ritual drink used in religious ceremonies and known as soma in India and as haoma in the Zoroastrian tradition is praised in the highest terms - as a kind of deity - in both Zoroastrian and Vedic texts, which date from around 1,700 - 1,500 BCE. It is said to provide health, power, wisdom and even immortality. Many theories have been published about the possible botanical identity of this 'nectar of immortality', a plant which appears to have psychedelic/entheogenic properties.Matthew Clark spent several years researching and travelling widely in his quest of soma. In his fascinating, original and highly readable book, this modern explorer of ancient wisdom reviews scholarly research, explores mythology and ritual and shares his extensive knowledge of psychoactive plants and fungi. The author suggests that the visionary soma drink was based on analogues of ayahuasca, using a variety of plants, some of which can now be identified.Dr. Matthew Clark is a Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London), where he has taught courses on Hinduism. He has spent many years in India, which he first visited in 1977. He first engaged with yoga in the mid-1970s and lectures regularly on yoga and philosophy. He is also a song-writer and musician (Mahabongo).

Narrative Structures and the Language of the Self by Matthew Clark offers a new way of thinking about the interrelation of character and plot. Clark investigates the characters brought together in a narrative, considering them not as random collections but as structured sets that correspond to various manifestations of the self. The shape and structure of these sets can be thought of as narrative geometry, and various geometries imply various theories of the self. Part One, "Philosophical Fables of the Self," examines narratives such as The Talented Mr. Ripley,A Farewell to Arms,A Separate Peace, and The Master of Ballantrae in order to show successively more complex versions of the self as modeled by Descartes, Hegel, Freud, and Mead. Part Two, "The Case of the Subject," uses Case Grammar to extend the discussion to additional roles of the self in narratives such as The Waves,The Great Gatsby,Fifth Business, and Howards End as examples of the self as experiencer, the self as observer, the instrumental self, and the locative self. The book ends with an extended analysis of the subject in Hartley's The Go-Between. Throughout, the discussion is concerned with practical analysis of specific narratives and with the development of an understanding of the self that moves beyond the simple dichotomy of the self and the other, the subject and the object.

Since 2002, Dr. Matthew Clark has been giving talks on the history, background and philosophy of yoga; to date (2018) to twenty-five different yoga groups and organizations around the world. The aim of this book is to provide for the non-specialist a very short and concise introduction to the origins and practices of yoga. It is particularly aimed at students on yoga teaching training courses, providing a short, handy introduction to the essential topics of yoga philosophy. Nearly all of the information presented may be found in other publications; some that I have found most useful have been included in the Bibliography. Several friends and colleagues who are very knowledgeable in this field have kindly suggested some minor corrections, which have been incorporated in this edition, which is a revised version of the book that was first published in 2010. Dr. Matthew Clark, Hove (January, 2018) Post-Graduate Research Associate, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.

The Kumbh Mel_, which takes place in India approximately every three years, is the largest festival in the world. This short introduction to its history and mythology was originally published as an appendix to my study of a sect of Indian s_dhus, the Da_an_m_-Sa_ny_s_s (The Da_an_m_-Sa_ny_s_s: The Integration of Ascetic Lineages into an Order. Leiden/Boston: E. J. Brill, 2006). It has been reprinted in this small booklet to enable easy access to the information. This booklet is slightly out of date, as only a few publications on this topic have been consulted since this article was first published, in 2006. Dr. Matthew Clark, Research Associate, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London