Merlin Sheldrake (born 1987) is a British mycologist and writer known for his work on mycorrhiza.
Merlin Sheldrake was born in 1987 in London to Rupert Sheldrake, an English author and parapsychology researcher, and Jill Purce, a therapist.[1][2] He grew up near Hampstead Heath in London.[3] His brother, Cosmo Sheldrake, is a musician. As a teenager, Sheldrake was influenced by Paul Stamets, a self-taught "fungal evangelist," and Karl von Frisch's book Animal Architecture.[4]
Sheldrake studied at the University of Cambridge, where he was a scholar of Clare College. After being awarded his undergraduate degree in biological science, he subsequently earned a master's degree in the history and philosophy of science, and later a PhD in tropical ecology.[5] He studied underground fungal networks in Panama's tropical forests as a predoctoral research fellow at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.[2][6]
In 2020, Sheldrake published his first book, Entangled Life, which was a bestseller in both The Sunday Times and The New York Times booklists and received the 2021 Royal Society Science Book Prize.[7][8] Entangled Life has positioned Merlin Sheldrake as a leading advocate for fungi.[4] He has presented an IMAX film called Fungi: Web of Life which was narrated by Björk and filmed in Tasmania's Tarkine rainforest.[9][10]
Inspired by Sheldrake's book, couture designer Iris van Herpen created a collection based on fungi, featuring designs mimicking chanterelle mushrooms and hyphae.[4][11]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sheldrake and his brother co-founded a business called Sheldrake & Sheldrake that sells fermented hot sauce.[4]
In 2021, Sheldrake consulted on Stella McCartney's fungal-themed Paris runway show, which featured a soundtrack by his brother, Cosmo Sheldrake that used a device to convert mycelium's electrical signals into musical notes.[4][12][13]
Sheldrake works with the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks, which aims to map and protect global mycorrhizal diversity.[14] He also works with mycologist Giuliana Furci and NYU law professor César Rodríguez Garavito to create legal protections for fungi, contributing to a larger movement that aims to provide legal representation for non-human living entities.[4][15]
Since 2023, he has been a research associate at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands.[4] In November 2023, Tatler described Sheldrake as a figure-head of the new vanguard of Bopeas, or "Bohemian Peasants", a socio-cultural group evolving from the Bobos who combine creative expression with a neo-medieval rooted "peasant" worldview.[16]
Sheldrake is married to the poet Erin Robinsong.[4]
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