Interview with Pesha Sloane
Author of: A BOOK OF MAJOON RECIPES
by Ben Horner
Enchanting and reminiscent, Pesha Sloane captures more than just an anthology of majoon recipes with this must have for cannabis chef’s and beat scholars. Majoon is defined as: an intoxicating sweet of Middle Eastern origin, made of cannabis leaves mixed with poppy seed, nux vomica, ghee, honey, etc. Tracing the history of this Moroccan confection, this chapbook teases the reader into the Interzone. Overlooking the Atlantic, in the distance, the Rif mountains, Tangier was an International Zone from 1912 to 1956 and became the destination for many European and American spies, writers, artists and musicians. This “Interzone Period” created haven for hedonism where any pleasure was readily available.
Consequently, author William S. Burroughs who lived for long spells in Tangier, wrote, “Tangier is one of the few places left in the world where, so long as you don’t proceed to robbery, violence, or some form of crude, antisocial behaviour, you can do exactly what you want.” Burrough’s masterpiece Naked Lunch, was written in part under the influence of majoon during his time in Tangier. Sloane pays tribute to the history and lore of this time in a subtle way, all the while opening the subconscious with carefully curated recipes, art and a conventional time slip into the present time with the basics of modern cannabis cuisine by explaining decarboxylation of THC.
According to Ira Cohen: “Madjoon, majoun, ma’jun...how soft the word is, how full of magic and jinn, how dark to the imagination! Majoon is the Arabic word for jam, but here in Morocco and all through the Islamic world everyone knows that it is a special confection with Indian hemp, or kif as its main ingredient. In Morocco it is still as commonplace as fruitcake in England or angel-food cake in the United States. It is usually taken on festive occasions or in the wintertime when it keeps you warm through the long Moroccan nights; but any time you feel like traveling or crave some instant magic theater all you have to do is find your favorite majoon seller and Open sesame! All doors fall down and you are off on a voyage with no turning back.” [An excerpt from the essay MAJOON, GOBLET OF DREAMS by Ira Cohen (1935-2011), originally published September 1983 and January 2020 in High Times, and included in Pesha Sloane’s, A Book of Majoon Recipes.]
So Pesha, why do you love Majoon?
I wouldn’t say I ‘love’ Majoon (mah-june) but as a readily available and age-old weed concoction it is certainly easy to consume in small quantities and tastes good too. These days when people are making all sorts of what they call “edibles” it is interesting, and somewhat culturally important, to recognize what came before. Majoon has been made and consumed for centuries.
The book peeks into the world of Beat poetry, art of that time. What is your connection to that point in space and time?
It’s just that the West has been unfamiliar with the culture of Morocco, or so it seems, and the poets and writers, who were expats back then, most all became famous, or at least well-known to a coterie of literati, or the curious. I first read “On the Road” when I was in high school and I used to go to Greenwich Village and hang out in the cafes at that time. The booklet peeks at this particular comestible since it lives on from Alice B’s cookbook and was introduced to her by Brion Gysin who has the Beat affiliation. It is not a hash brownie though and that is what it has become famous as: it’s majoon. So I am somewhat trying to clear up a mistaken identity. I regret that I’ve never been to Morocco. From what I understand marijuana is illegal there but no one pays any attention to that. I am an advocate for personal freedoms. Ira Cohen is also mentioned in the book with his great essay of the Majoon Traveler. Ira was not a Beat though he is often labelled as one. He was also a good friend.
William Burroughs is mentioned with a connection to Morocco and Majoon. Did you ever meet Burroughs?
Yes, I did meet him. I think it was around 1969. My interest in personal freedoms stems strongly from those times. It was my hope that if people could make their own communications, rather than corporations, we would have a better world. The video cameras were becoming available then. This was somewhat naïve as it turns out because the world of social media arose out of that. I had read the manuscript (all separate pages in a box, with drawings too) of “The Third Mind” and wanted to talk with Wm. S. about it. I found out he was in New York at the time. I don’t know how I summoned the courage, but I did make the call and did visit and have a lengthy conversation with him. I think the entire time he only showed me his profile, so he seemed like Dick Tracy to me. We talked about a possibility of long lines of people, like a posse, all with video cameras, taping at the same time. It never happened. It could have been shown on split screens, much like Harry Smith’s “Mahagonny.” It would be fun to do. Instead of the Rockettes all dancing in unison, we could have a league of video or filmmakers. Something like that certainly goes along with some of his ideas. It could still happen.
What about your relationship with Ginsberg?
Allen and I became friends, eventually. We had the same Buddhist teacher, Chögyam Trungpa, Rinpoche. I was a photographer on a tour he did of Vermont for Yoga Journal. And other things too. Also, with Peter Orlovsky. I have lots of photographs of them. He was a great one and really did want to do whatever possible to alleviate suffering. He was also politically astute, and it was a great pleasure to hear all that he knew and could say. I miss his political voice. It was very succinct. Who could ever forget his ‘om-ing’ at the convention in Chicago?
What advice do you have for folks making Majoon for the first time?
Read the recipes and make the one I suggest in the book first. Then do any riffs you like after that. Majoon is really a sort of jam and once jarred can last refrigerated for a long time. Just don’t eat too much at once. Pace yourself with nibbles. As with most all edibles they take a while to kick in and it’s not pleasant if you’ve been greedy.
Find A Book of Majoon Recipes, by Pesha Sloane, at these online distributors:
Signed copies for $31.50 At Third Mind Books
Unsigned copies for $15.00 plus shipping at Abebooks
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