Biographer

Ru Marshall

Ru Marshall’s long awaited Castaneda biography–American Trickster: The Hidden Lives of Carlos Castaneda–is scheduled to be published by Red Hen Press in Spring 2026. Ru has been working on this tome for 18 years, after having written their insightful piece about Castaneda for Salon.

As the publication date of the biography gets closer, we will add reviews and an interview with Ru here on Sustained Action.

Ru is a visual artist as well as a writer. Ru’s website is here. Their paintings, photographs, and videos have been shown at Participant Inc, White Columns, Art in General, Baxter Street, Studio One Gallery, and other venues in the United States, Europe, and Latin America. Their novel, A Separate Reality, was published by Carroll & Graf in 2006; their writing has also appeared in The Evergreen Review, N + 1 Online, the Kenyon Review, Barcelona Review, Another Chicago Magazine among other publications.

Ru has been interviewed and consulted about Castaneda and his circle for a number of projects, which can be found at the links below:

The Witches Of Westwood And Carlos Castaneda’s Sinister Legacy | LAist

Robert(a) Marshall | Interviews from Yale University Radio WYBCX

Biographer Turns Detective in Quest for Complete Picture | Biographers International Organization

William Ramsey Interviews Robert(a) Marshall about Castaneda

Trickster, a podcast about Castaneda

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