Colin Wilson

 

 FROM ANGRY YOUNG MAN TO PHILOSPHER OF OUR TIMES

Colin was born in Leicester on 26 June 1931. He left Secondary Modern school at 16, intending to take a B.Sc. at night school. A brief period in the RAF followed, ending when he was deemed to have 'worked his ticket', claiming that he was a homosexual. A short and unsuccessful marriage was followed by a period in Paris and as a Soho bum, after which he went on to sleep rough on Hampstead Heath in a sleeping bag (I kid you not - AC)

Colin’s explosive opening literary work was THE OUTSIDER, written when just 24 in the British Museum Reading Room. It became an overnight best-seller which caused him (illogically, he believes) to be labeled an 'Angry Young Man'. His second book RELIGION AND THE REBEL was slaughtered, and slights on his character by opponents led to him being hounded by the press. He thus retired in 1957 to Cornwall with second wife Joy, and has since made a living by writing over a hundred books on subjects ranging from criminology to the paranormal and psychology. His hobbies include reading and drinking wine (he once wrote a book called A BOOK OF BOOZE (1974)!). Colin and Joy have three children and four grandchildren. Key books from Colin Wilson include THE OCCULT (1971), MYSTERIES (1978), POLTERGEIST: A STUDY IN DESTRUCTIVE HAUNTING (1981), FROM ATLANTIS AND THE SPHINX (1996), ALIEN DAWN (1999), (with Rand Flem-ath) and THE ATLANTIS BLUEPRINT (2000), a sequel to which is currently being written. He is at present attempting to understand the principles behind Fermat's Last Theorem.

In his exclusive and partially reflective lecture for the Questing Conference, Colin will review a life searching for the answers to some of the world’s greatest mysteries, including the occult, mysteries, poltergeist, UFOs, Atlantis and the antiquity of the Sphinx, bringing the audience personal opinions drawn from his own extensive experience in these fascinating fields of study. He will also cite the strange sequence of events that surrounded his writing of THE ATLANTIS BLUEPRINT with Canadian writer-researcher Rand Flem-ath, a matter outlined in a new book currently under construction with the working title of ATLANTIS SEQUEL.

Back to Questing Conference 2003 main page