Joanna Harcourt-Smith

Joanna Harcourt-Smith (13 January 1946 – 11 October 2020) was an author, poet, psychedelic activist and the founder of Future Primitive Podcast.

Joanna Harcourt-Smith
Born(1946-01-12)12 January 1946
St. Moritz, Switzerland
Died11 October 2020(2020-10-11) (aged 74)
Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.
NationalitySwiss
OccupationPsychedelic activist, author, poet, podcaster
Children3
FamilyCecil Harcourt-Smith (grandfather)
Stanislaw Ulam (cousin)
Árpád Plesch (stepfather)
Arpad Busson (nephew)

Biography

She was born at the Palace Hotel, St. Moritz, in Switzerland.[1]

Harcourt-Smith wrote two unpublished biographies and many poems.[2] She is also the author of Tripping the Bardo with Timothy Leary: My Psychedelic Love Story. The book recounts her experiences while "she was a flower-power teenager in the Sixties," lived with the Rolling Stones in France, cavorted with playboy Gunter Sachs, Salvador Dalí and the Aga Khan, before falling in love with Timothy Leary in 1972.

Although they were never legally married, Tripping the Bardo with Timothy Leary describes Harcourt-Smith's experiences as Timothy Leary's "common-law wife" between 1972 and 1977, a period that spanned the divide between his fourth and fifth marriages. They met while he was a fugitive in Europe, and from there the pair traveled to Afghanistan together. He was arrested in Afghanistan and the couple was extradited to California. While in the U.S., Harcourt-Smith advocated for Leary's release during his four-year imprisonment. Following his release they entered the Witness Protection Program.[3]

My Psychedelic Love Story, a documentary by acclaimed American writer, filmmaker and director Errol Morris based on Harcourt Smith's book, was released on Showtime on 29 November 2020.

On her weekly podcast, Future Primitive, Harcourt-Smith had over 400 interviews archived beginning in 2006. The interviews focused on preserving oral traditions and uniting emergent communities for a future that honors the planet.[4] Harcourt-Smith interviewed prominent thinkers of our times, visionaries, authors, psychedelic researchers and scholars.

Harcourt-Smith spoke five languages, speaking three very well and two well enough to build relationships.[1]

She died on 11 October 2020 at the age of 74,[5] at her home in New Mexico surrounded by her children, husband and close community.

Personal life

She was the granddaughter of Sir Cecil Harcourt-Smith and the stepdaughter of financier Árpád Plesch,[6] and the aunt of financier Arpad Busson.

Harcourt-Smith resided in Santa Fe, New Mexico.[7]

She had 3 children, Lara Tambacopoulou, Alexis d'Amecourt and Marlon Gobel.

References
  1. Weed, Susan. "Harcourt-Smith interview". Wise Woman Radio. Archived from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2020. She grew up in Paris and went to school in France. She speaks five languages three very well and two well enough to create relationships in that language.
  2. "Power of Community: Joanna Harcourt-Smith,"] The Self-Care Revolution (Sept. 10, 2013). "Power of Community: Joanna Harcourt-Smith". Join the self care revolution. Archived from the original on 31 July 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2020. Joanna Harcourt-Smith is the creator and producer of Future Primitive a podcast website (www.futureprimitive.org).
  3. "The Psychedelia podcast: Interview with Gay Dillngham". Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  4. "Towards an effortless and aesthetic harmony with the living world". Marion Institute. Archived from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2020. Since 2006, Joanna Harcourt Smith has searched the internet for contemporary voices that speak “Truth to Beauty”.
  5. Joanna Harcourt-Smith "Joanna Harcourt-Smith" Check |url= value (help). The Times of London. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  6. Rein, Lisa (30 August 2017). "Interview with Timothy Leary Archivist Michael Horowitz". Boing Boing. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020.
  7. St. Charnez, Casey (24 June 2014). "My Book Report: Tripping the Bardo With Timothy Leary: My Psychedelic Love Story". SantaFe.com. Archived from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2020. She knows it, too. Her recreation of a world mindset now fully two generations past is a convincing, detailed account of generally reprehensible behavior, choked in the smoke of reefer and Gauloises. Never once does she flinch at revealing her guilt-ridden betrayals, her guiltless bed-hopping, her unexpected collusion with the FBI. Prudence, restraint, integrity—thy name was not the Joanna Harcourt-Smith of the 20th century.
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