Letters to the Editor
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Its a forced path.
"Want proof of the corrosive effects that charlatans like Castaneda can create, with all of this Me-Me-Me philosophical bullshit? Read this one, from this very forum:
"As the only seeress in Manhattan, I am beholden to CC for all he has taught me through his books. A Catholic girl who dreamed of eagles, sorcerers and bears, the books were a hand reaching out to help me, I was not alone with my differing interpretation of the world.""
It doesn't mean anything, it's just another copyist. How many Jesus's or Picasso's have their been since Jesus or Picasso? They are not an argument against Jesus or Picasso.
You will sooner rid the influence of Plato on literature than that of Carlos Castaneda.
There is no proof that he was a charlattan or had lovers in those late years. Amy Wallace is the only one who has made that accusation, and her motives are highly dubious. What really happened to her would happen to anyone who falls foul of the sorcerer's world: they only get back the ordinary reality they are really seeking. Sorcerer's stalk the end - give it an appearance of themselves that the world is satisfied with - good or bad - and then vanished unnoticed. The sorcerer does his work and then the world appends itself accordingly: death certyificates, liver cancer, harems etcetera. What else could the world believe of Carlos Castaneda and his work? That his impeccability ran us all in circles? That the Blue Scout really was of another sort of human expression amid the universe?
If you wish to peek into the sorcerers' world you have to do the work, sorcery 101, and no one has time for that. Its a forced path.