Some are actual pieces, and others are discussions of the pieces, such as origin and theory of the tape cutups, which he. Burroughs and his cat ginger in the backyard of his home in lawrence, kansas. Burroughs is the second book ive read as part of a miniproject of mine to examine the place of. Burroughs life, magick and world view was the cutup, a technique created by his friend and collaborator brion gysin from the earlier dada experiments of tristan tzara. The sickness is drug addiction and i was an addict for fifteen years. Burroughs the 25th anniversary edition, edited with an introduction by oliver harris rona cran queer, written in 1952, published for the. He states he was born 1914 to an established, wealthy. In oklahoma they found a tiny little bit of pot down by his right. Burroughs by via the house published march 9, 2009 updated august 1, 2015 junky, first published in 1952, is one of the first examples of contemporary drug literature. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 208 pages and is available in paperback format. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction. This novel tells stories of lurid adventures and serious drug abuseall from the junkies point of view. In 1977 the expurgations of the earlier edition were undone, and the title changed from junkie to. Burroughs s first novel describes the relentless travels of william lee through the dizzying, drugaddled neighborhoods of 1940 s new york, new orleans, and mexico city.
Cutups are the art of literally cutting up text and images in random fashion and then. Joan didion in 1953, at the height of american conformism and anticommunist hysteria, william s. Burroughs speeches and cutup recordings performed and recorded between 1960 and 1976. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. It is a way of his debut novel, junky, burroughs fictionalized.
He bears the name of both his father and his greatgrandfather, william seward burroughs i, the original inventor of the burroughs adding machine. You will be glad to know that right now junky william s burroughs pdf is available on our online library. William seward burroughs iii july 21, 1947 march 3, 1981 was an american novelist, also known as william s. It takes at least three months shooting twice a day to get any habit at all. When i lived in mexico city at the end of the 1940s, it was a city of one million people, with clear sparkling air and. It provides a thorough exploration of the novel s plot, characters and main themes, including addiction, crime and sexuality. William leebillis the narrator and protagonist of the novel. Its safe to say that the book wouldnt have seen the light of day if allen ginsberg hadnt taken burroughs under his wing and edited the manuscript. Burroughs, including the naked lunch, and junky, and more on. Nov 23, 2012 junky, a semiautobiographical novel by william s. Feb 01, 2014 the original cover of junkie by william lee second, although the bulk of junky was in place before the killing, burroughs continued to revise the text at least as late as july 1952, including.
Burroughs published junky, an irresistible strungout ode to. The 1953 ace edition was a double volume, with maurice helbrants narcotic agent included on the reverse. In 1953, at the height of american conformism and anticommunist hysteria, william s. The 1953 ace edition was a double volume, with maurice helbrant s narcotic agent included on the reverse.
One reason that apes cant talk is because the structure of their inner throats is simply not designed to. A shocking expose of the desperate subculture surrounding heroin addiction, william s. Burroughs introduction when i lived in mexico city at the end of the 1940s, it was a city of one million people, with clear sparkling air and the sky that special shade of blue that goes so well with circling vultures, blood and sandthe raw menacing pitiless mexican blue. Confessions of an unredeemed drug addict originally titled junk, later released as junky is a novel by american beat generation writer william s. Aug 07, 2012 if youre a fan of william burroughs work, a complete reading of junkie, by william burroughs himself, has recently appeared online, for free. May 06, 20 my fascination with the daily routines of famous writers was recently rekindled by the release of the similarlyminded daily rituals, which in turn reminded me of one of the characteristically, charmingly eccentric routine of beloved author and catlover william s. Before his 1959 breakthrough, naked lunch, an unknown william s. The first edition of the novel was published in april 15th 1953, and was written by william s. Read junky the definitive text of junk by william s. In his debut novel, junky, burroughs fictionalized his experiences using and peddling heroin and other drugs in the 1950s. Burroughss first novel describes the relentless travels of william lee through the dizzying, drugaddled neighborhoods of 1940s new york, new orleans, and mexico city. The answer is that he usually does not intend to become an addict. Confessions of an unredeemed drug addict junky a novel by william lee william s. More than anything else, junky reads like a field guide to the american underworld.
Burroughs did not begin writing seriously until 1950, although he had unsuccessfully submitted a story titled twilight. Etsy is the home to thousands of handmade, vintage, and oneofakind products and gifts related to your search. The main characters of this fiction, classics story are william s. The 1957 uk digit edition was withdrawn shortly after publication, and the remaining copies pulped. Burroughs junky is edited with an introduction by oliver harris in penguin modern classics. Burroughs0introduction by allen ginsberg0prologue0junky0 glossary introduction bill. Burroughs wrote junk, his first book, a candid, eyewitness account of times and places. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws. Burroughs reads from the place of dead roads and the cat inside. Burroughs, the inventor of the first marketable adding machine. Reads today as fresh and unvarnished as it ever has. Junkie by william lee book cover, description, publication history. In 1949, burroughs, vollmer and billy moved with vollmer s daughter to mexico city, where burroughs wrote junky, a semiautobiographical depiction of heroin addiction burroughs had been taking the drug since the midforties.
Junkys narrator, william lee, is clearly a version of burroughs, the author. Burroughs published junky, an irresistible strungout ode to the joys and perversities of drug addiction. Junk is not, like alcohol or a weed, a means to increased enjoyment of life. Junky is an unabashedly honest account of the ghostly and extraordinary world of. Burroughs did, in fact, start using heroin in 1944 and within a year, he was an addict. Junky, naked lunch, the soft machine, and cities of the red night. After many rejections, burroughs kind of gave up on the idea of seeing this book in print. Burroughs first novel, a largely autobiographical account of the constant cycle of drug dependency, cures and relapses, remains the most unflinching, unsentimental account of addiction ever written. Pair last words with the daily routines of joy williams, mark twain, gertrude stein, vladimir nabokov, james joyce, and other literary greats.
Junky is an unabashedly honest account of the ghostly and extraordinary world of the heroin addict. Read unlimited books and audiobooks on the web, ipad, iphone and android. Confessions of an unredeemed drug addict and authored pseudonymously by william lee burroughs mother s maiden. William burroughs the original junkie books the guardian. Junky and william burroughs oblique moral vision its apparently impassive descriptions of a heroin addicts life still lay out rights and wrongs pretty plainly. The story follows a man at odds with american mainstream culture into a quest for spiritual meaning via heroin. Junkie read by wsb online for free august 7, 2012 8. Six years before he published his breakthrough novel, naked lunch 1959, william s. In 1977 the expurgations of the earlier edition were undone, and the title changed from junkie to junky. Get junky william s burroughs pdf file for free from our online library pdf file.
Will self on junky of all the beat generation writers, william s. He was anarchys double agent, an implacable enemy of conformity and of all agencies of controlfrom government to opiates. Like his face with lined with suffering in which his eyes did not participate. The definitive text of junk penguin modern classics by burroughs, william s. Burroughss first novel is a cult classic and a critical part of his oeuvre. Break through in grey room is a collection of william s. Junkie alternately titled junky is a 1953 semiautobiographical novel by william s. Junk is not, like alcohol or weed, a means to increased enjoyment of life. Burroughs that was first published in 1970 by expanded media editions in west germany. In his debut novel, junky, burroughs fictionalized his experiences using and peddling. The definitive text of junk penguin modern classics.
For this definitive edition, renowned burroughs scholar oliver harris has gone back to archival typescripts to recreated the authors original text word by word. Burroughs, published initially under the pseudonym william lee in 1953. Feb 11, 2014 junky and william burroughs oblique moral vision its apparently impassive descriptions of a heroin addict s life still lay out rights and wrongs pretty plainly. It is a way of life william burroughs, legendary drug. The original cover of junkie by william lee second, although the bulk of junky was in place before the killing, burroughs continued to revise the text at least as late as july 1952, including. Burroughs the book is organized as a progression of inexactly associated vignettes. Burroughs junkie november 10, 2012 june 16, 2015 freshlyworded junkie by influential beat generation writer william s. Burroughs, 9780872861527, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. No matter what youre looking for or where you are in the world, our global marketplace of sellers can help you find unique and affordable options. From the tenements of new york to the queer bars of new orleans, junky takes the reader into a world at once longforgotten and still with us today.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading junky. Feb 07, 20 jack kerouac conference july 1982 naropa and elsewhere this recording and the entire naropa collection is licensed under a cc byndnc 1. Burroughs is the second book ive read as part of a miniproject of mine to examine the place of the heroin junky in literature. Junky and william burroughs oblique moral vision books.
Kerouacs and ginsbergs editorial assistance were crucial in extracting the novel from the undifferentiated mass of typescript and manuscript material that burroughs called the word hoard. This study guide consists of approximately 38 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of junky. Burroughs this study guide consists of approximately 38 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of junky. Rolling stone the most important writer to emerge since world war ii. Burroughs, is a seductive story set at the inception of the hip subculture in america. The definitive text of junk 50th anniversary edition. But the text is equally clearly not an autobiography, nor a straightforward memoir. Jack kerouac conference july 1982 naropa and elsewhere this recording and the entire naropa collection is licensed under a cc byndnc 1.
The definitive text of junk 50th anniversary edition by william s. Originally published as junkie under the pen name of william lee. Burroughs reads his first novel, junky open culture. Burroughs, published initially under the pseudonym william lee. It is a candid eyewitness account of times and places that are now long gone, an unvarnished field report from the american postwar underground. Now folks, if youll just step this way, youre about to witness the complete all american deanxietized man.
It was his first published novel and has come to be considered a seminal text on the lifestyle of heroin addicts in the. Burroughs voice is hard, derisive, inventive, free, funny, serious, poetic, indelibly american. They jerk around like puppets on invisible strings, galvanized into hideous activity that. You dont wake up one morning and decide to be a drug addict. Burroughs, usa 19141997 the electronic revolution 1970, expanded media editions pdf, 832kb the electronic revolution is an essay collection by william s. Cover of burroughs book junky burroughs shares a joint. Junky part 1 of 11 by wlliam s bourroughs 1953 youtube. This practical and insightful reading guide offers a complete summary and analysis of junkie by william s. Burroughs broke into the literary scene with junky sometimes also called junkie, a candid, semiautobiographical account of an unredeemed drug addict. When i say addict i mean an addict to junk generic term for opium andor derivatives including. Its a very straightforward, nononsense and notearjerker experience as burroughs writes of lees addictions, faltering friendships, his fleeting meets with people while trying to attain drugs as quickly as possible, at times doing anything for it. Junky william s burroughs pdf no dragons for tea pdf, junk is not, like alcohol or a weed, a means to increased enjoyment of life. Burroughs son joan vollmer was the mother, william billy burroughs, was born in 1947.
277 500 1080 938 1047 177 1359 1599 1491 583 92 675 475 223 872 211 1273 308 1337 645 155 996 739 1063 1162 587 1306 917 982 1193 514 1085