There is a world that mirrors our own. Everything in this world is made of substance finer than air, finer than light, finer than thought itself - the aether. In the aether there are inner sensations such as ideas and feelings that are as tangible as anything in the material world. In The Mentalist's Handbook, Clint Marsh gives us a glimpse of the world. He offers step-by-step exercises, detailed and beautifully written explanations and definitions, and gorgeous black and white illustrations by award-winning artist Jeff Hoke. Inspired by esoteric, occult, and magic books published over the last 150 years, Marsh has aspired to create something of singular importance in the tradition of classic occult manuals. Both practical and whimsical, and complete with visual aids, this field guide to the paranormal will appeal to students of the New Age, esoteric scholars, readers of post-modern and magical-realism, angel, ghost and fairy enthusiasts, comic and graphica fans, and artists alike.
Clint Marsh was born in Minnesota in 1974. When he was six years old, his family moved into a mossy-shingled house nestled in a forest in Iowa. The previous owner had left in the house a library of occult tomes, and these were among the first books the young boy would read.
Thirteen years later, Marsh started his own publishing company -- Wonderella Printed -- and began issuing pamphlets of his and others' writing and art. As the years went by, Marsh's publications leaned increasingly toward the esoteric subject matter that enchanted him when he was just a boy.
In 1998, Wonderella published four issues of "Phooka: The Journal of the Overland Mallet Club," edited by Reginald Bakeley. From 1999 to 2003, Marsh was the consulting editor on Jeff Hoke's "Guide to Lost Wonder" series, which in 2006 was collected and published by Weiser Books as "The Museum of Lost Wonder." Marsh and Hoke also collaborated on a series of psychic development pamphlets which Weiser published as "The Mentalist's Handbook" in 2008.
Today, Wonderella Printed publishes "practical esoterica" for readers looking to expand their own occult libraries, as well as those eager to bring more magic into their everyday lives. Marsh enjoys an active correspondence with his readers and fellow writers through the mail and via his newsletter, "The Pamphleteer."
(Author photograph courtesy of Wendi Olson)
