States of Mind

A lively collection of literature, science and art delving into the mysteries of human consciousness, with a new introduction by Mark Haddon, published to coincide with a major exhibition at Wellcome Collection in 2016 "The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends and where the other begins?" Edgar Allan Poe Understanding the nature of consciousness continues to challenge even our leading scientists and psychologists. Yet we all experience some form of consciousness and make daily journeys between different conscious states as we sleep and wake. Through the eyes of writers, artists, scientists and philoso­phers, States of Mind explores the meaning of consciousness and, in particular, the nature of interrupted or liminal conscious experiences, such as somnambulism, synaesthesia and disorders of memory. These diverse - even conflicting - perspectives pose fundamental questions about what it means to be alive, aware and human. This engaging collection draws on five centuries of thinking, probing science and the soul, language and memory, being and not being. It includes works by Jane Austen, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Arthur Conan Doyle, Francis Crick, René Descartes, Emily Dickinson, H L Gold, Franz Kafka, H P Lovecraft, Marcel Proust, Mary Shelley, Henry David Thoreau, Alan Turing, H G Wells and Emile Zola.WELLCOME COLLECTIONWellcome Collection is a free museum and library that aims to challenge how we think and feel about health. Inspired by the medical objects and curiosities collected by Henry Wellcome, it connects science, medicine, life and art. Wellcome Collection exhibitions, events and books explore a diverse range of subjects, including consciousness, forensic medicine, emotions, sexology, identity and death. Wellcome Collection is part of Wellcome, a global charitable foundation that exists to improve health for everyone by helping great ideas to thrive, funding over 14,000 researchers and projects in more than 70 countries.wellcomecollection.org

Wellcome Collection publishes books for the incurably curious, exploring the connections between medicine, life and art. It is part of the Wellcome Trust, a global charitable foundation dedicated to improving human and animal health. Anna Faherty is an award-winning writer, editor, researcher and teacher who has worked in publishing for almost a quarter of a century. Anna collaborates with publishers and museums on a diverse range of print, exhibition and digital projects and is an Associate Lecturer at Oxford Brookes University and Course Leader for the MA Publishing programme at Kingston University. She is the author of the Reading Room Companion, published by Wellcome Collection. Mark Haddon is the author of three novels, including The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and The Red House, and a volume of poetry, The Talking Horseand theSad Girl and the Village Under the Sea. He has written drama for stage, TV and radio. His latest book, a collection of short stories, is The Pier Falls, published by Jonathan Cape.