West-East Influences on Malcolm Lowry

Renowned for his masterpiece, Under the Volcano (1947), the late-modernist writer, Malcolm Lowry (1909-57) was fully aware of the role played by literature in heightening awareness of the interconnectedness of our environment. His shamanic perceptions and reflective consciousness – which are brilliantly showcased in his account of the Día de (los) Muertos, or the Mexican Day of the Dead festival - require an interdisciplinary voyage of discovery. This chapter seeks to contribute to the development of a psychogeographic and historical framework for the investigation and evaluation of modernism’s international dimensions and multicultural interconnectedness. It provides a foundation for the consideration of the influence of cultures and civilizations – east and west, ancient and modern – on modernist authors and on avant-garde artists, be they, for example, American, British, or else, Continental