William S. Burroughs Cutting Up the Century

Description

William S. Burroughs Cutting Up the Century is the definitive book on Burroughs' overarching cut-up project and its relevance to the American twentieth century. Burroughs's Nova Trilogy (The Soft Machine, Nova Express, and The Ticket That Exploded) remains the best-known of his textual cut-up creations, but he committed more than a decade of his life to searching out multimedia for use in works of collage. By cutting up, folding in, and splicing together newspapers, magazines, letters, book reviews, classical literature, audio recordings, photographs, and films, Burroughs created an eclectic and wide-ranging countercultural archive. This collection includes previously unpublished work by Burroughs such as cut-ups of work written by his son, cut-ups of critical responses to his own work, collages on the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal, excerpts from his dream journals, and some of the few diary entries that Burroughs wrote about his wife, Joan.

William S. Burroughs Cutting Up the Century also features original essays, interviews, and discussions by established Burroughs scholars, respected artists, and people who encountered Burroughs. The essays consider Burroughs from a range of starting points—literary studies, media studies, popular culture, gender studies, post-colonialism, history, and geography. Ultimately, the collection situates Burroughs as a central artist and thinker of his time and considers his insights on political and social problems that have become even more dire in ours.

Acknowledgments

Collage of Time Harvard Lampoon Parody, William S. Burroughs, facsimile, 1965

Introduction: Cutting Up the Century / Alex Wermer-Colan and Joan Hawkins

Biographical Timeline

Metamorphosis

1. Cutting Up the Century / Oliver Harris

The Reality Studio

SECTION I: ICON/VIRAL

Deposition of the Ugly Spirit, William S. Burroughs, typescript, Villa Muniria, Summer 1961

2. Burroughs and Biography: An Interview with Barry Miles / Oliver Harris

Cutting Up the Critics, typescripts, 1962–64

3. The Nova Convention: Celebrating the Burroughs of Downtown New York / Kristen Galvin

Nova Convention Poster, Sylvere Lotringer, facsimile, 1978

4. The Disembodied Fry: William S. Burroughs and Vocal Performance / Landon Palmer

Cut-up with Limericks, William S. Burroughs, typescript, 1971

5. William S. Burroughs' Spirit of Collaboration / Allen Hibbard

SECTION II: SPACE/TIME

6. Burroughs and the Biosphere, 1974–1997 / Kathelin Gray

The Permissive Society, William S. Burroughs, typescript, 1971

7. Beat Regionalism: Burroughs in Mexico, Burroughs in Women's Studies / Aaron Nyerges

Collage of Newsclippings, William S. Burroughs, facsimile, 1970

8. Interference Zones: William Burroughs in the Interstices of Globalization / Timothy S. Murphy

On China

9. Cut-Up City: William S. Burroughs' "St. Louis Return" / Eric Sandweiss

SECTION III: WORD/IMAGE

On Addiction

10. William S. Burroughs' Imperial Decadence: Subversive Literature in the Cynical Age of the American Century / Alex Wermer-Colan

Opium Collage, William S. Burroughs, typescript, Dream Rat Calendar, Monday Bellevue 4, 1970

11. Naked Lunch and the Art of Incompleteness: The Use of Genre in Burroughs' Book and Cronenberg's Film / Joshua Vasquez

The Fall of Art

12. Queer Outlaws Losing: The Betrayal of the Outlaw Underground in The Place of Dead Roads / Kurt Hemmer

Thinking in Colors

13. Rimbaud and Genet, Burroughs' Favorite Mirrors / Véronique Lane

SECTION IV: CUT/FOLD

On the Cut-Up

14. Cross the Wounded Galaxies: A Conversation about the Cut-Up Trilogy / Davis Schneiderman and Oliver Harris

The Photo Collage: Watergate

15. "Word FallingPhoto Falling": William S. Burroughs and the Word as Written Image / Blake Stricklin

Cutting Up Scientology

16. Mutable Forms: The Proto-Ecology of William Burroughs' Early Cut-Ups / Chad Weidner

SECTION V: BODY/SPIRIT

The Wild Boys, A Pornographic Screenplay

17. William S. Burroughs, Transcendence Porn, and The Ticket That Exploded / Katharine Streip

Dream Note on Indictment for Murdering Joan, William S. Burroughs

18. Gender Trouble: A Critical Roundtable on Burroughs and Gender / Ann Douglas, Anne Waldman, and Regina Weinreich

Cutting Up Last Words

19. The Burroughs Effect / Anne Waldman

Root Face, William S. Burroughs, facsimile, 1987

Index

Sujets

• Queer
• Collage
• Obermodern-Zutzendorf
• American
• General
• 20th century
• Literary criticism
• General officer
• American literature
• Graphics
• Modern history
• Gendér
• Biography
• Newspaper
• América

Informations

• Publié par: Indiana University Press
• Date de parution: 17 mai 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9780253041357
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

William S. Burroughs
Cutting Up the Century

William S. Burroughs
Cutting Up the Century
Edited by
Joan Hawkins
and
Alex Wermer-Colan
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Charles Cannon, Tony Brewer, and Landon Palmer
INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS
This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press
Office of Scholarly Publishing
Herman B Wells Library 350
1320 East 10th Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA
iupress.indiana.edu
2019 by Indiana University Press
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Hawkins, Joan, [date] editor. | Wermer-Colan, Alex, editor. | Harris, Oliver (Oliver C. G.)
Title: William S. Burroughs cutting up the century / edited by Joan Hawkins and Alex Wermer-Colan ; contributing editors: Charles Cannon, Tony Brewer, and Landon Palmer.
Description: Bloomington : Indiana University Press, 2019. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018023308 (print) | LCCN 2018026007 (ebook) | ISBN 9780253041364 (e-book) | ISBN 9780253041326 (hardback : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780253041333 (pbk. : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Burroughs, William S., 1914-1997-Criticism and interpretation. | Cut-ups (Literary form)
Classification: LCC PS3552.U75 (ebook) | LCC PS3552.U75 Z933 2019 (print) | DDC 813/.54-dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018023308
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CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
BIOGRAPHICAL TIMELINE
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
Introduction / ALEX WERMER-COLAN AND JOAN HAWKINS
Metamorphosis
1 Cutting Up the Century / OLIVER HARRIS
The Reality Studio
SECTION I: ICON/VIRAL
Deposition of the Ugly Spirit
2 Burroughs and Biography: An Interview with Barry Miles / OLIVER HARRIS
Cutting Up the Critics
3 The Nova Convention: Celebrating the Burroughs of Downtown New York / KRISTEN GALVIN
Nova Convention Poster
4 The Disembodied Fry: William S. Burroughs and Vocal Performance / LANDON PALMER
Cut-Up with Limericks
5 William S. Burroughs Spirit of Collaboration / ALLEN HIBBARD
SECTION II: SPACE/TIME
6 Burroughs and the Biosphere, 1974-1997 / KATHELIN GRAY
The Permissive Society
7 Beat Regionalism: Burroughs in Mexico, Burroughs in Women s Studies / AARON NYERGES
Collage of News Clippings
8 Interference Zones: William Burroughs in the Interstices of Globalization / TIMOTHY S. MURPHY
On China
9 Cut-Up City: William S. Burroughs St. Louis Return / ERIC SANDWEISS
SECTION III: WORD/IMAGE
On Addiction
10 William S. Burroughs Imperial Decadence: Subversive Literature in the Cynical Age of the American Century / ALEX WERMER-COLAN
Opium Collage
11 Naked Lunch and the Art of Incompleteness: The Use of Genre in Burroughs Book and Cronenberg s Film / JOSHUA VASQUEZ
The Fall of Art
12 Queer Outlaws Losing: The Betrayal of the Outlaw Underground in The Place of Dead Roads / KURT HEMMER
Thinking in Colors
13 Rimbaud and Genet, Burroughs Favorite Mirrors / V RONIQUE LANE
SECTION IV: CUT/FOLD
On the Cut-Up
14 Cross the Wounded Galaxies: A Conversation about the Cut-Up Trilogy / DAVIS SCHNEIDERMAN AND OLIVER HARRIS
The Photo Collage: Watergate
15 Word Falling Photo Falling : William S. Burroughs and the Word as Written Image / BLAKE STRICKLIN
Cutting Up Scientology
16 Mutable Forms: The Proto-Ecology of William Burroughs Early Cut-Ups / CHAD WEIDNER
SECTION V: BODY/SPIRIT
The Wild Boys, a Pornographic Screenplay
17 William S. Burroughs, Transcendence Porn, and The Ticket That Exploded / KATHARINE STREIP
Dream Note on Indictment for Murdering Joan
18 Gender Trouble: A Critical Roundtable on Burroughs and Gender / ANN DOUGLAS, ANNE WALDMAN, AND REGINA WEINREICH
Cutting Up Last Words
19 The Burroughs Effect / ANNE WALDMAN
Root Face
INDEX
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like to thank James Grauerholz and Yuri Zupancic of the Burroughs Estate and Jeffrey Posternak of the Wylie Agency for their help and support for this volume, and for permission to publish a selection of archival materials. Without James Grauerholz s long-term friendship with Burroughs in the last third of his life, and without his continued stewardship over Burroughs oeuvre, the vast majority of scholarship represented by this anthology would never have been possible. Special thanks also go to Oliver Harris, not only for his contributions to the volume, but for his help, support, and guidance throughout.
We would like to thank the librarians, archivists, and staff, especially Isaac Gewirtz, Lyndsi Barnes, and Joshua McKeon, at the New York Public Library s Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Special Collections, for their assistance over many years of research. Our gratitude for further archival reproductions extends to Robert Spindler and his staff at Arizona State University Hayden Library s Rare Books and Manuscripts, and Marvin Taylor and his staff at the Fales Downtown Special Collections of New York University Library, as well as librarians and staff at the History Colorado s Stephen H. Hart Library. We are also grateful for permission to publish photographs from Chris Kraus at Semiotext(e) , Anne Waldman, H. R. Hegnauer, Barry Miles, Peter Hale at the Allen Ginsberg Estate, and Henry Holt and Company.
It would have been impossible to compile the collection without financial and institutional support from Indiana University. We would like to thank the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, especially Ed Comentale, for the two grants we received: the Grant-in-Aid of Research and the Emergency Grant-in-Aid of Research. We would also like to thank the Media School for research funds and institutional support, our editorial assistants Landon Palmer and Zeynep Yasar, and the College Arts and Humanities Institute. The Media School and the Cinema and Media Studies Unit also gave generous grants that enabled us to include color prints. Finally, to Paige Rasmussen, our editor at Indiana University Press, we owe a huge debt of thanks.
The idea for this collection grew out of two conferences, held in 2014, to commemorate the centennial of Burroughs birth. We would like to thank the organizers of the Burroughs Century Conference at Indiana University and the members of the Burroughs Century Board-especially Tony Brewer, Charles Cannon, Joan Hawkins, Laura Ivins, Peter LoPilato, James Paasche, and Jon Vickers for their continued support and interest in this volume. We would also like to thank Alex Wermer-Colan, as well as staff at the Center for Humanities, especially Aoibheann Sweeney, Kendra Sullivan, Sampson Starkweather, and Shea la Finch, for organizing the William S. Burroughs Centennial Conference at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. To the writers who participated in the conferences, and/or contributed essays for this volume, thank you for your work and for your patience as we compiled the volume. This anthology owes a huge debt to all the scholars who have helped to open the field of Burroughs scholarship: we could not have created this anthology without, among many others, James Grauerholz, Barry Miles, Oliver Harris, Jed Birmingham, Timothy Murphy, Jamie Russell, Davis Schneiderman, Jenny Skerl, Robin Lydenberg, Keith Seward, Michael Stevens, and Ian MacFadyen.
And finally, our indebtedness to William S. Burroughs. As Lou Reed once famously said, Without William, there is nothing. Everything would have stayed the same. The genius to move things beyond-to improve the subject-requires strength. Burroughs made us pay attention to the realities of contemporary life and gave us the energy to explore the psyche without a filter. Welcome Dr. Benway.
BIOGRAPHICAL TIMELINE
We have included the biographical details important to this volume, but this is not a comprehensive overview of Burroughs life. Similarly, we have listed the most well-known Burroughs works, along with their revisions and subsequent editions. This is not an exhaustive list of Burroughs publications. For a complete account of his sixty-eight published books, see the Bibliography in Barry Miles, Call Me Burroughs: A Life (2014). There are two good biographies: Ted Morgan, Literary Outlaw : The Life and Times of William S. Burroughs (W. W. Norton, 2012; first published 1988) and Barry Miles, Call Me Burroughs: A Life (Twelve, 2014).
February 5, 1914
Born William Seward Burroughs II, in St. Louis, Missouri, into a wealthy St. Louis family, grandson and namesake of the inventor of the Burroughs Adding Machine and founder of the Burroughs corporation, William Seward Burroughs I, as well as nephew of public relations manager Ivy Lee.
1920-1926
Attends Community School in St Louis. Some evidence that Burroughs was sexually molested by his nanny and her boyfriend.
1926-1929
Attends John Burroughs School in St. Louis.
1927
Reads Jack Black s You Can t Win (1926), the autobiography of an opium-smoking safecracker and itinerant stick-up man, a book that left a lasting impression. The Johnson family depicted in the memoir offered an alternative to