Woodrew Update

History

Greta Woodrew and Dick Smolowe published the Woodrew Update from 116 Roseville Road, Westport, Connecticut 06880. Subscription enquiries went to two telephone numbers: (203) 227-7010 (Connecticut) and (212) 725-4766 (New York). Volume 1, Number 6 appeared in July/August 1982; Volume 2, Number 1 followed in September/October 1982. The newsletter ran through at least Volume 7, with publication continuing into the mid-to-late 1980s.

The content sat at the intersection of parapsychology, consciousness research, and UFO-adjacent phenomena. The July/August 1982 issue carried an article on "The 'Aura' About You," tracing the history of reported human energy emanations from ancient Indian and Egyptian wall drawings through Hippocrates ("enomron"), Pythagoras ("luminous body"), the Cabalists ("astral light"), and into Semyon Kirlian's high-voltage photography work. The September/October issue opened with "Telepathy: An Extra Sense," citing Harold Sherman's late-1930s experiments communicating telepathically with Sir Hubert Wilkins during an Arctic air rescue mission.

The newsletter format was typewritten, professional, and dense with information. Articles ran to full newsletter length (typically 4 to 6 pages of single-spaced text per issue) rather than the short item format of most UFO bulletins. Greta Woodrew wrote the majority of content herself, with Dick Smolowe handling production and business. The dual Connecticut/New York telephone numbers suggest the newsletter served a New York metropolitan readership as well as a Connecticut mailing list.

Topics across the run included Robert Monroe's out-of-body research ("Journeys Out of the Body"), Kirlian photography applications for health diagnostics, Russian parapsychology programmes, healing techniques, and the nature of consciousness as studied through both Eastern and Western traditions.