I RECENTLY completed a new interview (in English) for the Portuguese webzine, Hintf. My sincere thanks to Ana Carvalho and Miguel Barbosa Ribeiro for providing me with this valuable opportunity.

Hintf: What is your writing routine like, and what is the most challenging part of turning an idea into a complete book?

I usually wake up around 08.00, watch a nature documentary on National Geographic Wild and then cycle to the local post office to dispatch any outstanding book orders. Once I return, I might post a few items on my Substack page before going on a long walk somewhere whilst listening to lectures or novels on my mp3 player. It’s a nice, gentle way of greeting the day and tends to get me in the mood for the use (or abuse!) of language and creates a hunger to produce words of my own. I generally write for about five or six hours in the afternoon, which is rather like disappearing into another world, even though we live right next door to a farm and my thoughts are often interrupted by sheep, goats, ducks, cockerels and peacocks. Always a pleasant experience, I might add. The most challenging part of turning a basic idea into a text is motivation. I’ve always been very driven, thankfully, but sometimes I find that I have to temporarily fight off another, intrusive idea before I can finish the project at hand. Editing other books often interferes with my own projects, too, even though I consider those just as important. People have this romantic idea that writers sit in cafés all day, rather like Fernando Pessoa, but although I wish that were true we are usually closeted away like social outcasts!

Hintf: Do you prefer to outline the entire story before you start writing, or do you let the settings and characters develop naturally?

I should emphasise that I have only ever published two novels, one about Adolf Hitler surviving the bunker and escaping from Berlin (Hitler: The Adjournment) and a detective story in which leading politicians and diplomats are being assassinated (Anti-Zion), even though I do a lot of creative writing – often humorous – on social media. Most of the books I release under my own name focus on history, politics, philosophy and spirituality. On the other hand, I have written a book of love poetry, a collection of Japanese haiku and a volume of nonsense rhymes for children. To answer your question, when I wrote the two works of fiction I had a general plan but was surprised at how much the storylines changed as I conjured up new ideas or had to account for why something had taken place. The detective novel, in particular, was quite challenging because I needed to cover all angles and ensure that I didn’t leave any gaps in the investigation process. But yes, to a large extent both the settings and many of the characters involved only revealed themselves during the actual writing process.

Hintf: Where do you usually look for inspiration for your stories and themes?

In the case of the two novels mentioned above, my inspiration was derived from my political views. Prior to becoming an Anarchist in the mid- to late-1990s, I promoted the German socialist ideas of Otto Strasser (1897-1974). He had actively fought against Hitler’s dismissal of economic self-determination within the sphere of German nationalism, something that had evolved prior to the Führer’s collaboration with Big Business. Consequently, Strasser was chased out of Europe by the Gestapo and forced to live in exile in the snowy wastes of Canada. His brother, Gregor, was murdered in the Night of the Long Knives. Despite being a work of fiction, Hitler: The Adjournment is therefore a settling of old scores. Similarly, Anti-Zion was the result of my fight against Zionist control of government, media and finance, as well as my lifelong opposition to the genocidal displacement of the Palestinians by the occupational government. So again, it represents a way of educating people about politics through the use of both fantasy and alternative history. In this case, by having prominent supporters of Zionism ‘taken out’ in a number of inexplicable and unsettling ways which, during the course of the story, becomes a major challenge for Scotland Yard.

Hintf: How do you define the concept of “National-Anarchism” in your work Tradition & Revolution, and how does this ideology challenge traditional Left-Right political views?

Tradition and Revolution was first published in November 2007, so quite a while ago now. The ideas remain valid, but since then we have published a number of other books in which National-Anarchism is discussed more specifically. These are National-Anarchism: A Reader, National-Anarchism: Ideas and Concepts, National-Anarchism: Theory and Practice, National-Anarchism: Methodology and Application, National Anarchism: Heroes and Villains and National Anarchism: Kindred Spirits. After spending 15 years trying to spread decentralist ideas within nationalist circles back in my native England, encouraging people to look beyond the narrow parameters of the Left-Right dichotomy, by the year 2000 I had established the National-Anarchist Movement (N-AM) and written a Manifesto to launch the new group. This was an attempt to attract Anarchists from a number of different backgrounds who were committed to establishing intentional settlements whilst advocating the overthrow of the capitalist system. Whilst ‘revolution’ is often dependant on the fallacious notion that everything will happen on a particular day, or at some point in the future, many of us are already engaged in the process of organising small communities in urban squats and rural outposts or experimenting with independent currencies and the so-called ‘black market’. We are also committed to the formation of what Peter Lamborn Wilson (1945-2022) called temporary autonomous zones, as well as the setting-up of self-defence groups, the organisation of sporting associations and home-schools, the planting of rooftop gardens and the development of inner-city farms. Given that many large towns and cities are rapidly breaking down, especially in America, it is important for these revolutionary structures to be well-defended. Anarchists must not fall prey to criminal elements who, like their capitalist friends in high places, will try to steal their resources; particularly in a crisis. Although we have been affected by social media censorship in recent times, we retain an online presence in a more discreet fashion and our activists are involved in a number of projects that operate beneath the radar. My own role is to focus on propaganda, deal with correspondence and promote ideas that offer people a new way of looking at the world.

Hintf: What parallels or divergences do you find between your current political ideas and your involvement with nationalist movements earlier in your journey?

The main difference between my former involvement with English nationalism and the National-Anarchist ideas that I write about today is the question of the state. We want to see decentralisation right down to the lowest possible unit, dismantling the state apparatus that merely exists to rule over a termite colony of workers, consumers and taxpayers and bring everything down to the level of the village. We believe that it is possible to create street, area and regional committees that channel the wishes and aspirations of the people upwards, rather than accept that everything should be imposed by the state or subject to the exploitative desires of the capitalist market. The great ‘controversy,’ of course, is that I was formerly involved with organisations that defended ethnic separatism, but at no time have I supported mindless racism or white supremacy and we actively reject people who base their ideas on hatred of this kind. My position, therefore, has always been anti-fascist. Nonetheless, we still believe that separatism must remain an option for those who want it – providing any desire to live among one’s own people is based on respect and non-coercion – and the increasingly diverse people who identify with National-Anarchism reflect our policy of tolerance and open-mindedness in that people can be either separatist or advocates of multi-racialism. This means we support the formation of communities in which people live in accordance with their own unique principles, be they straight, homosexual, black, white, Jewish, Chinese or otherwise. National-Anarchist communities may also be organised in accordance with a central theme, so you can have villages founded on science fiction, punk rock, a love of great Portuguese wine or anything you fancy. Once again, both mutual respect and non-coercion are absolutely crucial if true plurality is to be maintained for all.

Hintf: Your essay on Yukio Mishima addresses the relationship between art, action, and politics. How has Mishima’s thought influenced your writing?

I have collected many of Mishima’s books over the years, but although I enjoy them tremendously I think I find more inspiration in his general spirit of self-sacrifice rather than the style of writing itself. Many have questioned why a leading Japanese author would want to take his own life in such a dramatic manner, myself included, but what jumps out at you from Mishima’s work is the realisation that, for him, life was always about facing up to death. Such thoughts are considered morbid in today’s materialistic world, but as an attitude towards existence I find that memento mori can often be a very comforting thought and prepare us for what lies ahead. After all, it is not as though we have any ultimate say in the matter. The idea of death can be incredibly frightening for many people, creating an enormous degree of anxiety, but there are few things more satisfying than coming to terms with it and – like Mishima – knowing precisely how you will face it when the time comes. I am not planning to commit seppuku, I must admit, but even if I show half the bravery and imperviousness that Mishima did when his time came I will consider myself blessed.

Hintf: How does the influence of Traditionalist thought (such as that of Julius Evola or René Guénon) shape the central themes of your books and essays?

A great deal, although I am less interested in Evola’s political views than the important juxtaposition he makes between the values of past and present in Revolt Against the Modern World. Guénon even more so, I think, whose The Crisis of the Modern World offers the first real evaluation of contemporary man’s descent into soulessness, rootlessness and general chaos. I think perennialism is a beautiful way of coming to terms with a world in which so many peoples, cultures and religions are now confronting one another as a consequence of globalisation. Ironically, we have far more in common than is ordinarily supposed and I am particularly inspired by Frithjof Schuon’s (1907-1998) work, The Transcendent Unity of Religions, which explains that while faiths such as Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism and Islam appear to be centred on the more obvious or naked dissimilarities that exist between the belief-systems themselves, there is a primordial subsoil in which each shares a remarkable similarity with the other. Schuon was not advocating a global religion, based on ecumenicalism, but pointing out that beyond the exoteric level each form of spirituality has an inner, esoteric core core that transcends the petty squabbles of external religiosity and indicates that each path converges at the uppermost level. The sectarian differences are nonetheless important, because the spirit appears to different peoples in slightly different ways and reinforcing these boundaries allows us to choose the path that is most in tune with our own religious sensibilities. Ultimately, they all end up at the same destination. I’m very pleased to have played a part in promoting perennialism, either through my own books or the volumes of collected essays that we have published about such figures.

Hintf: In your autobiography and essays, how do you address the intersection of your literary work, independent journalism, and musical projects (H.E.R.R., Xiphos or Seelenlicht)?

I don’t really separate my activity into categories, at least not consciously, as I like to imagine that I am waging a single political and cultural struggle on a number of different fronts and that they complement one another. My literary work certainly helps the way I shape lyrics and ideas within the context of songwriting, which is why I think projects like H.E.R.R. and Xiphos are so heavily centred on social history, although my fellow musicians (Michiel Spapé, Miklos Hoffer and Simon Shelmerdine) are equally fascinated by these socio-historical topics and contribute just as much as I do. With Seelenlicht, which has sadly come to an end with the death of Butow Maler, we concentrated far more on the psychological ramifications of death, violence and conflict from a comparatively modern perspective.

Hintf: Looking back, what do you consider to have been the most significant turning point in your personal and intellectual life?

I wouldn’t say there has been a particular turning-point, as I always had a strong sense of social justice and enjoyed playing around with words or listening to music. My youth was very nihilistic, mostly a blur of football matches and gang-violence, but I suppose that I did reach a stage whereby I finally grew into myself and stopped hitting out at society without any clear direction. However, even when I became involved in politics and exchanged my self-destructive behaviour for something more positive I was really continuing an existing trajectory in that I had always been opposed to authoritarianism. Growing up in London, in a working class family, I soon discovered that the world can be an incredibly nasty place and although that led to my becoming caught up in it all in order to survive at school or out on the streets I soon found that, as a natural outsider, I could channel my distaste for modern society and its values into projects that offer hope and provide alternatives for people from similar backgrounds and beyond.

Hintf: How do you balance your personal and family life with your dedication to such intense literary and political projects?

I count myself incredibly fortunate to have married a Portuguese woman who is both intelligent and culturally-aware. She is also incredibly supportive and understanding, particularly when it comes to sharing a mutual love of life, laughter and music. In my previous incarnation, back in England, I was (and remain) the father of four children. They were all born between 1991 and 1997, so it was an incredibly busy period and one that I had to combine with writing, political activism and attending university as a mature student. In addition, I taught all four of them at home from ages 0-16 and that, for me, was a very rewarding experience and one that I shall always carry in my heart. In those days I often wrote in the evenings, because I had to organise lessons in the morning and then take the children on adventures during the afternoons. If we weren’t wandering around cathedrals and old ruins, we immersed ourselves in nature or took boat rides along the River Thames. Things are much quieter today, but sharing such experiences with family and friends still brings me a lot of joy and happiness.

Hintf: Is there any personal experience from your childhood or youth that you feel fundamentally shaped who you are today?

Strangely enough, I would say that the more negative experiences have made me who I am today. Without going into too much detail, I experienced a lot of violence and aggression in my youth and it not only taught me to be tough but shaped my attitude towards authority and especially politicians, the police, landlords, teachers and social workers. If I had had an easy life, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here answering these questions! So yes, it’s the old cliché about what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

Hintf: Beyond writing, music, and politics, what hobbies or daily activities help you switch off and recharge?

My great passion outside those fields of interest is football. I began attending matches with my father in the early-1970s, supporting the team that represents my London hometown: Crystal Palace. I only missed a handful of games between those days and 2015, when I left for Portugal, even spending my last 20 years in England working for the club itself. I have also managed and coached boys’ football teams, including those for which my youngest son played in London and Sussex, and few things in life have given me such pleasure. Even now, I watch about 12 football matches a week, so it’s a great way to switch off from everything else I do (despite the stress that Crystal Palace have given me down the years!). I also do a certain amount of Zen meditation, which certainly helps to provide a sense of ‘grounding’ when there is so much external stimulation calling us back to the modern world.

Hintf: Which books, authors, or historical figures have most influenced your worldview on a personal level?

The socio-political books that have inspired me most of all have been Hitler and I by Otto Strasser, The Green Book by Muammar al-Qathafi, The Natural Society by Richard Hunt, I Believed by Douglas Hyde, Against Civilisation by John Zerzan, A History of the Protestant Reformation in England and Ireland by William Cobbett, The Struggle of MAC and the Free Wales Army by Roy Clews, Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence, The Ultimate Heresy by John Seymour, The Thirteenth Tribe by Arthur Koestler, Mutual Aid by Peter Kropotkin, The Outsider by Colin Wilson, For My Legionaries by Corneliu Z. Codreanu, Industrial Society and Its Future by Ted Kaczynski, The French Revolution by Nesta Webster, The Anarchist Reader by George Woodcock, Usury: Root Cause of the Injustices of Our Time by People Against Interest Debt, Ecology in the 20^th Century by Anna Bramwell, Wall Street and the Bolshevik Revolution/Wall Street and the Rise of Hitler by Antony Sutton, and The Controversy of Zion by Douglas Reed. My favourite poets and novelists include Aldous Huxley, Mary Shelley, Arthur Conan Doyle, Percy Bysshe Shelley, C.S. Lewis, George Orwell, Gustav Meyrink, Lord Byron, Ray Bradbury, William Blake, P.G. Wodehouse, G.K. Chesterton, William Shakespeare, Anthony Burgess, Fernando Pessoa, John Fowles, Bram Stoker, J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Marlowe, Hermann Hesse, William Wordsworth, H.P. Lovecraft, Edward Lear, August Strindberg, Edgar Allen Poe and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. I also have a keen interest in spiritual and esoteric volumes, so would have to include Alan Watts, Mircea Eliade, D.T. Suzuki, G.I. Gurdjieff, Nigel Pennick, Rudolf Steiner, A.R. Orage, Philip Kapleau, Maria Nagloska, Algis Uždavinys, Donald A. Mackenzie, Helena Blavatsky, Evelyn Waugh, Gershom Scholem, Owen Barfield, Rudolf Otto and Dion Fortune. My favourite historians are Christopher Hibbert, E.P. Thompson, Frank Stenton, Christopher Hill, Hilaire Belloc, Bede, Plutarch and Suetonius, but I shall resist the urge to include philosophy and psychology, or I will be sitting here for the next two weeks!

Hintf: Looking back at your career spanning over 40 years, how do you assess the evolution of your writing and ideas from your early fanzines to your most recent books?

Staring at a screen for hours and hours each day certainly has its uses! When I began in the mid-80s, writing for political newspapers and magazines, my words contained a lot of fire and anger. I wouldn’t say that has been tempered, necessarily, but once my writing began to evolve it took a more structured form and I learned how to rely less on making people angry and more on the subtle art of persuasion. I think humour is very important, too, I use that quite a lot as making people laugh is winning half the battle. On the whole, I can often be quite versatile in that I complete an article about state repression and then go straight into a feature about a discarded shoe that I saw on my way home. Tragi-comedy, or dark humour, is one of the methods we English use to laugh at ourselves from time to time. Without it, we would slip into the realms of madness!

Hintf: Which literary or musical project do you consider the most significant of your career to date, and why?

On a personal level, I am fairly proud of my biography of Alfred Dreyfus (1859-1935), a Jewish captain in the French Army who was accused of passing military secrets to the country’s German adversaries. It’s a tale of immense social injustice, completely dividing French society at the time, but I felt that I managed to convey the humanitarian side of his story with the divisive political attitudes of the time. Much of the work involved studying complex legal proceedings, too, but somehow I found a way to weave everything together into an understandable narrative.

Hintf: With increasing digitalization, do you prefer direct contact with the audience at in-person events, or do you prefer interacting via online platforms and publications?

It is much easier to interact with people online, at least when it comes to promoting ideas. I am a fairly an introverted person at heart, something I inherited from my father and grandfather, so although I have given a number of speeches in public – including three in Porto – it is something that I find very challenging. Face to face, I can be personable and approachable, but there is a lingering residue of shyness left over from my childhood that strongly objects to being stared at in a roomful of people. That said, I’m improving with age!

Hintf: What advice would you give to new authors trying to publish their first book?

As far as the actual publishing process is concerned, it depends what kind of material one intends to produce. If it’s controversial, then you probably won’t have big distribution and must therefore consider publishing your own books or speaking to a publisher that deals in such material. My own outlet, Black Front Press, is also denied the privilege of major distribution and this means we need to establish how many books we are likely to sell by using the ‘pre-order’ method. In other words, by advertising a book prior to publication we don’t make the mistake of printing too many and getting ourselves in debt. This allows us to live within our means, so to speak, accumulating the funds we require for printing beforehand in the knowledge that we won’t be sitting on an enormous pile of unsold books for the next ten years. It’s a fail-safe approach to self-publishing that allows us to ascertain our likely readership. I definitely think this is the way for new publishers to proceed.

Hintf: Do you plan to go on a tour of presentations or talks in the near future to promote your work?

I don’t have anything planned at the moment, but we usually combine selling books with a political or cultural event of some kind. In June 2024 we staged a conference in Porto under the name of the Commonweath of Free Spirits and hope to organise another at some point. I am certainly open for offers, if anyone is interested in having a Black Front Press bookstall at a future gathering. I could even give a speech, if I was forced at gunpoint.

Thanks for your time.

Thank you so much for allowing me to express myself to your readers. I must say that this has been one of the most interesting interviews I have been asked to do and I am especially pleased that it comes from people who are directly associated with my adopted hometown of Porto. Best wishes to everyone at Hintf, including your readers, and keep up the good work in the cultural underground.

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