Naked Lunch the restored text by William S Burroughs

[Glenn Armstrong]

I was reading through the William S Burroughs trilogy starting with Cities of the Red Night when I decided to revisit Naked Lunch which I had not read for several years. This edition features typo and other editorial corrections but also additions and outtakes by the author. I was particularly struck by Burroughs' statement in passing about how people externalize themselves by the use of gadgets. And this was first published in 1959! I can still see how Burroughs' comments about the nature of addiction and the use of control by individuals, goverments and organizations influenced J.G. Ballard, Lou Reed, William Gibson and others.

Not exactly science fiction but definately prescient writing. Does anyone have any reflections on William S Burroughs? I think he spent the rest of his writing career illuminating and expanding upon many of the concepts and routines found in Naked Lunch, one of the most influential books of the 20th century.

[sleazy]

I read that book a long time ago in high school. I'll have to get back to it one day, then I can say more. I vaguely remember the essence of WB:):)....thanx for the nifty heads up anyway:)

[Glenn Armstrong]

Yeah, I read Naked Lunch in high school as well. It made more sense this time around. Although Burroughs died when the Internet was in its infancy, he would probably be interested in how the Chinese government is blocking web sites, censoring blogs, etc. And the role of social media in popular uprisings and so on. He also thought that language was a kind of virus which could possibly apply to information as well.
 
sleazy said:

I read that book a long time ago in high school. I'll have to get back to it one day, then I can say more. I vaguely remember the essence of WB:):)....thanx for the nifty heads up anyway:)

[sleazy]

Yes, your right. In a weird way, I'd spare WB living in these totalitarian times of ours:(:(

Glenn Armstrong said:

Yeah, I read Naked Lunch in high school as well. It made more sense this time around. Although Burroughs died when the Internet was in its infancy, he would probably be interested in how the Chinese government is blocking web sites, censoring blogs, etc. And the role of social media in popular uprisings and so on. He also thought that language was a kind of virus which could possibly apply to information as well.
 
sleazy said:

I read that book a long time ago in high school. I'll have to get back to it one day, then I can say more. I vaguely remember the essence of WB:):)....thanx for the nifty heads up anyway:)

[Glenn Armstrong]

Burroughs is a mixed bag. He would probably consider gun control as a totalitarian effort. But does this stance reveal a larger principle or an attempt to protect a personal gun fetish? Burroughs is known to have accidentally shot and killed his wife in a drunken game of William Tell yet he was a fan of guns anyway. It is also interesting that Burroughs told Kerouac that buddhism was 'psychic junk.' The buddhist precept against taking intoxicants would certainly hamper a drug habit. Controversial as he is, Burroughs was writing about the spread of viral language and information long before the advent of viral videos. That is one reason I think he still warrants reading and study. At least amongst us literary geeks!
 
sleazy said:

Yes, your right. In a weird way, I'd spare WB living in these totalitarian times of ours:(:(

Glenn Armstrong said:

Yeah, I read Naked Lunch in high school as well. It made more sense this time around. Although Burroughs died when the Internet was in its infancy, he would probably be interested in how the Chinese government is blocking web sites, censoring blogs, etc. And the role of social media in popular uprisings and so on. He also thought that language was a kind of virus which could possibly apply to information as well.
 
sleazy said:

I read that book a long time ago in high school. I'll have to get back to it one day, then I can say more. I vaguely remember the essence of WB:):)....thanx for the nifty heads up anyway:)

[sleazy]

I get where you're coming from Glenn. I think "controversial" is the magic word here. WB represents the very essence of society in general and Anglo-Saxon society in particular....CONTROVERSIAL. That is what most non Anglo-Saxons don't get about our culture :):)!!!

Glenn Armstrong said:

Burroughs is a mixed bag. He would probably consider gun control as a totalitarian effort. But does this stance reveal a larger principle or an attempt to protect a personal gun fetish? Burroughs is known to have accidentally shot and killed his wife in a drunken game of William Tell yet he was a fan of guns anyway. It is also interesting that Burroughs told Kerouac that buddhism was 'psychic junk.' The buddhist precept against taking intoxicants would certainly hamper a drug habit. Controversial as he is, Burroughs was writing about the spread of viral language and information long before the advent of viral videos. That is one reason I think he still warrants reading and study. At least amongst us literary geeks!
 
sleazy said:

Yes, your right. In a weird way, I'd spare WB living in these totalitarian times of ours:(:(

Glenn Armstrong said:

Yeah, I read Naked Lunch in high school as well. It made more sense this time around. Although Burroughs died when the Internet was in its infancy, he would probably be interested in how the Chinese government is blocking web sites, censoring blogs, etc. And the role of social media in popular uprisings and so on. He also thought that language was a kind of virus which could possibly apply to information as well.
 
sleazy said:

I read that book a long time ago in high school. I'll have to get back to it one day, then I can say more. I vaguely remember the essence of WB:):)....thanx for the nifty heads up anyway:)

[kopper]

Sleazy, what the fuck are you talking about? "Anglo-Saxon society"??? Are you a 19th-century racist or what?

[sleazy]

By AS society I mean the non Latin world...what do I have to explain anyway???!

[Gringo Starr]

I think that Greg’s point was that despite Burroughs work being controversial it still warrants attention and study particularly because his ideas pertaining to information and language as a virus are concepts we are confronted with today.

Controversial was not the “magic word”. “Viral information” is.

Greg makes an interesting point. Sleazy does not. How exactly does William Burroughs represent the very essence of Anglo-Saxon society? Burroughs was a homosexual, a heroin addict and a free thinker. Certainly not my idea of a redneck.

To me Burroughs was always the visionary of the Beat trinity (that includes Kerouac and Ginsberg respectively). Burroughs work with cut-ups, the dream machine, and even the Orgone Accumulator seemed to me more in the Post Punk or Cyber Punk direction than the Hippy or Jazz-ma-tazz concepts of his contemporaries.

Now I would like to keep this thread firmly on Greg’s topic but there is one thing that needs clarifying – Sleazy, just what is it that non Anglo-Saxons (!) don’t understand about your “culture”?

(of course we thought you meant the non Latin world. One could also say, 'the non white world'.)

[kopper]

You might want to start by explaining why you're even delving into this "anglo-saxon society" bullshit... because, in case you haven't noticed, we don't live in an "anglo-saxon society." We live in a society that is made up of many different peoples and cultures from all over the world. The fact that you're even using the term "anglo-saxon" sends up a big red flag that screams, "Hey everybody, I'm an old-school RACIST!!"

If that's not true, or what you meant, then EXPLAIN yourself. There. That help?

sleazy said:

By AS society I mean the non Latin world...what do I have to explain anyway???!

[Glenn Armstrong]

Here is a good link with an excerpt by LeRoi Jones, now known as Amiri Baraka, about the cut up method for anyone who is interested:

http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88v/burroughs-cutup.html
 
Gringo Starr said:

I think that Greg’s point was that despite Burroughs work being controversial it still warrants attention and study particularly because his ideas pertaining to information and language as a virus are concepts we are confronted with today.

Controversial was not the “magic word”. “Viral information” is.

Greg makes an interesting point. Sleazy does not. How exactly does William Burroughs represent the very essence of Anglo-Saxon society? Burroughs was a homosexual, a heroin addict and a free thinker. Certainly not my idea of a redneck.

To me Burroughs was always the visionary of the Beat trinity (that includes Kerouac and Ginsberg respectively). Burroughs work with cut-ups, the dream machine, and even the Orgone Accumulator seemed to me more in the Post Punk or Cyber Punk direction than the Hippy or Jazz-ma-tazz concepts of his contemporaries.

Now I would like to keep this thread firmly on Greg’s topic but there is one thing that needs clarifying – Sleazy, just what is it that non Anglo-Saxons (!) don’t understand about your “culture”?

(of course we thought you meant the non Latin world. One could also say, 'the non white world'.)

[Grazianohmygod]

I remember enjoying Junky, even though that's a much more straightforward narrative. It kind of reads like a piece of journalism. Still have a strong recollection of his description of those hypo needles that have a tube of the morphine attached to them. It's called a syrette.

[Gringo Starr]

Sorry for calling you Greg, Glenn.

Gringo Starr said:

I think that Greg’s point was that despite Burroughs work being controversial it still warrants attention and study particularly because his ideas pertaining to information and language as a virus are concepts we are confronted with today.

Controversial was not the “magic word”. “Viral information” is.

Greg makes an interesting point. Sleazy does not. How exactly does William Burroughs represent the very essence of Anglo-Saxon society? Burroughs was a homosexual, a heroin addict and a free thinker. Certainly not my idea of a redneck.

To me Burroughs was always the visionary of the Beat trinity (that includes Kerouac and Ginsberg respectively). Burroughs work with cut-ups, the dream machine, and even the Orgone Accumulator seemed to me more in the Post Punk or Cyber Punk direction than the Hippy or Jazz-ma-tazz concepts of his contemporaries.

Now I would like to keep this thread firmly on Greg’s topic but there is one thing that needs clarifying – Sleazy, just what is it that non Anglo-Saxons (!) don’t understand about your “culture”?

(of course we thought you meant the non Latin world. One could also say, 'the non white world'.)