Hakim Bey, Chaos: The Broadsheets of Ontological Anarchism :: Essays Papers

Hakim Bey, Chaos The Broadsheets of Ontological Anarchism Such is the fast-paced world and style of Hakim Beys writings. Sporadic and rarely rounded up for interrogation, Beys Ontological Anarchism pervades all his writings, on topics as varied as Islam and Eugenics1, The Information War2, The Evil midsection3, a critique of multiculturalism4, and Celtic-African entheogens5. Hakim Beys zine writings and early 90s hipsterism have made him known to some as The Marco Polo of the Subunderground6 and a counter-cultural guru to more more. With information becoming more firm only in the last few years, Hakim Bey has been identified as a pseudonym for Peter Lamborn Wilson, a New York based translator and author. Drawing on his experiences wandering India, Asia, and North Africa, Hakim Bey authors (what offer to be) outrageous manifestos and leftist anarchist essays primarily for zine publication and dispersion or for lectures and performance. He draws explicitly on a Moorish and sufiist intellectual heritage with occasional references to contemporary philosophers and cultural theorists. He situates himself as a bunk situationist anarchist informed by critical theory, and has written in both ctheory and Trip. Beys writing is ultimately so fascinating precisely because it does not burst neatly into a schools of thought, academic discipline, or a relation between the major figures of contemporary theory (eg loves Baudrillard, ignores Lacan, sometimes uses Foucault). As such, his writings are quite a esoterically his own, and not only do not make their ties with other theorists explicit, but also cannot be immediately connected to theirs (because Beys assumptions are so various on account of his backgrounds differences from western academic philosophy). His work, as a theorist of media (and everything else), operates at a straightforward and accessible aim, filled with apart(p) references that dont point towards an expertise in his re adership so much as an explosion of it. For some, his writings are meaningless babble on the level of Principia Discordia7. He does not get much mainstream citation except in regards to his concept of PT and the TAZ8, but he does get plenty of crap. This disdain culminated in the publication of a fake Hakim Bey book, actually written by Luther Blissett9. Hakim Bey is a persona. His behaviors and secrecy are all a part of the clay of work of which he is accredited with authorship.