As far as I know, the only place Illuminati Lady had previously appeared was in a late-60s zine called St. John’s Bread published by Paul Encimer (Discordian name, Dr. Confusion), who I corresponded with many years ago while researching The Prankster and the Conspiracy. While putting this piece together, I did a google search which unfortunately informed me that Paul passed away in January of last year. Encimer led a full and fascinating life, which you can read about here.
In the obit/bio, written by Kym Kemp, it states that Encimer’s “publication Saint John’s Bread reflected all his interests with a combination of entertaining stories and opinion and comic absurdity, he contributed to a friends long running In Light Times and worked with his peers The 7 Mighty Anvils as Dr. Confusion, creating together to distribute regular editions of the Saint John’s Bread Wednesday Messenger and Paranoid Flash Illuminator. These works explored imagined and esoteric spirituality, and current politics, they experimented with early psychedelia, poetry, fiction and surrealistic discordia with multi-hued paper printed cheaply on aging mimeograph machines. A creative impulse that would become the zine movement embraced by young sub-cultures everywhere. He was one of the early ordained ministers of the Universal Life Church in full agreement with it’s free wheeling take on spiritual practice, and always recalled the motto he saw etched at it’s founders enclave during an early gathering: ‘There is no hope, without dope.’ Paul slipped easily into what became known as a Hippy lifestyle, but politically he considered himself one of Abby Hoffman’s Yippies—Just under the wire at the fabled 30 year old cut-off….”
In the video below, Thornley discusses Illuminati Lady.
One reply on “Kerry Thornley’s Illuminati Lady”
Hi,
I was the Author of Paul’s Obit, funny how the internet bounces things around these days so authoritatively… I discovered your site while researching Paul before his demise, and shared that old letter that refers to him.
One of the bits of business I undertook then and only finished a year after his passing was transcribing and publishing an early novel of his that he considered an important effort, that had languished for nearly 60 years and threatened to disappear completely. The story of so many of his efforts.
you might be interested:
https://www.amazon.com/Palmer-between-lives-Paul-Encimer/dp/B09RV9BNSK
Meanwhile I continue to produce the long running twice monthly radio talk show he created on our local KMUD (kmud.org) ‘The politically correct week in review’ – as well as the now less regular Greenfuse (greenfuse.work) that we started back in 2000.