Marcous, Dana

Interviewer

Robben Harris

Files

Description

Dana Marcous is a spiritual, successful and fascinating man who at times lives in the extremes, but always seems to maintain his balance. His life story and his spiritual path are so closely intertwined, it might appear as if he has eclipsed the spiritual and physical world. From being a world-class hairdresser and opening one of the most successful hair salons in Maine, to pursuing a career as an actor in L.A., Dana is a person who always follows his dreams and looks for the signs. This interview contains stories of Dana’s early life, including his process of coming out as gay in a rural town in Maine in the late 1960s, and the trauma that came with it. There are also stories of travel to New York and L.A., Dana’s glimpses of the bar scene and gay communities during those times and his experiences along the way. Largely, though, this interview captures Dana’s spiritual journey, from its beginning, to becoming an apprentice of Carlos Castaneda, to where he is now in life, as he prepares to retire and the new challenges he is facing

Publication Date

11-13-2023

Publisher

USM Special Collections

City

Westbrook, Maine

Keywords

Akari, Maine, “Coming Out in Maine, ” gay, Windham Maine, Portland Maine, Black Widows, Carlos Castaneda, Don Juan, Dalai Lama, Richard Gere, Male Escort, Sex trade, Blackstones, The Underground, Gay life in the 80s, spirituality, Shamanism, Buddhism, Shamanism vs Buddhism, Robin Williams, Mushrooms, Ayahuasca, Meditation, Transcendental Meditation, Fluidity, Social Constructs, Hairdresser, Vidal Sassoon’s, Energy, Intention, Manifestation, New York in the 70s, L.A., AIDS, AIDS and HIV Epidemic, HIV positive, Undetectable, Mortality, Afterlife, Consciousness, Entrepreneurship, Actor, Career pursuits, Joni Mitchell, Yoga, Yogi, The Misadventures of a Contemporary Yogi, Queer Community, Gay Community in Portland, Yoga instructor, Spiritual Path

Disciplines

History of Gender | Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies | Oral History | Women's Studies

Recommended Citation

Harris, Robben, "Marcous, Dana" (2023). Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection. 121.
https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/querying_ohproject/121

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.