John Geiger's "Chapel of Extreme Experience" (2002)

Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Gutter Press (book, signed), 2002.
8" x 5" x 0.375", 120 pages, softcover, ISBN 1-896356-36-2.

Chapel of Extreme Experience: A Short History of Flicker by John Geiger, as published by Gutter Press (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) in 2002.  This is, as noted, a history of the science of flickering light, mostly focused on the invention of the Dreamachine by Ian Sommerville and Brion Gysin. This contains a foreword by Leila Hadley and an introduction by John R. Smythies.

Burroughs provides a blurb to the back cover of this edition: "John Geiger's knowledge of history, art history and science have all contributed to his unique grasp of our planet's past."

Burroughs is mentioned throughout this book, bringing in his experiences with "consciousness-expanding drugs", the influence of the Dreamachine on the Cut-Up trilogy (The Soft Machine, Nova Express, and The Ticket That Exploded), and Burroughs' travels with Gysin to promote the invention.

A photo of William S. Burroughs alongside a Dreamachine, in the company of R. Gordon Wasson, Albert Hoffman, and Udo Breger, is at page 92.

This copy is signed by Leila Hadley, John Geiger, Ira Cohen, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, and John Giorno.

Contents: 

• Foreword by Leila Hadley
• Introduction by John R. Smythies
• Chapel of Extreme Experience
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Acknowledgements
• Index