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Interzone
In 1954 William Burroughs settled in Tangiers, finding a sanctuary of sorts in its shadowy streets, blind alleys, and lowlife decadence. It was this city that served as a catalyst for Burroughs as a writer, the backdrop for one of the most radical transformations of style in literary history. Burroughs's life during this period is limned in a startling collection of short stories, autobiographical sketches, letters, and diary entries, all of which showcase his trademark mordant humour, while delineating the addictions to drugs and sex that are the central metaphors of his work. But it is the extraordinary "WORD," a long, sexually wild and deliberately offensive tirade, that blends confession, routine, and fantasy and marks the true turning point of Burroughs as a writer-the breakthrough of his own characteristic voice that will find its full realization in Naked Lunch. James Grauerholz's incisive introduction sets the scene for this series of pieces, guiding the reader through Burroughs's literary evolution from the precise, laconic, and deadpan writer of Junky and Queer to the radical, uncompromising seer of Naked Lunch. Interzone is an indispensable addition to the canon of his works.
194 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
About the author
William S. Burroughs
415 books6,360 followersWilliam Seward Burroughs II, (also known by his pen name William Lee) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, painter, and spoken word performer.
A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th century".
His influence is considered to have affected a range of popular culture as well as literature. Burroughs wrote 18 novels and novellas, six collections of short stories and four collections of essays.
Five books have been published of his interviews and correspondences. He also collaborated on projects and recordings with numerous performers and musicians, and made many appearances in films.
He was born to a wealthy family in St. Louis, Missouri, grandson of the inventor and founder of the Burroughs Corporation, William Seward Burroughs I, and nephew of public relations manager Ivy Lee. Burroughs began writing essays and journals in early adolescence. He left home in 1932 to attend Harvard University, studied English, and anthropology as a postgraduate, and later attended medical school in Vienna. After being turned down by the Office of Strategic Services and U.S. Navy in 1942 to serve in World War II, he dropped out and became afflicted with the drug addiction that affected him for the rest of his life, while working a variety of jobs. In 1943 while living in New York City, he befriended Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, the mutually influential foundation of what became the countercultural movement of the Beat Generation.
Much of Burroughs's work is semi-autobiographical, primarily drawn from his experiences as a heroin addict, as he lived throughout Mexico City, London, Paris, Berlin, the South American Amazon and Tangier in Morocco. Finding success with his confessional first novel, Junkie (1953), Burroughs is perhaps best known for his third novel Naked Lunch (1959), a controversy-fraught work that underwent a court case under the U.S. sodomy laws. With Brion Gysin, he also popularized the literary cut-up technique in works such as The Nova Trilogy (1961–64). In 1983, Burroughs was elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and in 1984 was awarded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by France. Jack Kerouac called Burroughs the "greatest satirical writer since Jonathan Swift", a reputation he owes to his "lifelong subversion" of the moral, political and economic systems of modern American society, articulated in often darkly humorous sardonicism. J. G. Ballard considered Burroughs to be "the most important writer to emerge since the Second World War", while Norman Mailer declared him "the only American writer who may be conceivably possessed by genius".
Burroughs had one child, William Seward Burroughs III (1947-1981), with his second wife Joan Vollmer. Vollmer died in 1951 in Mexico City. Burroughs was convicted of manslaughter in Vollmer's death, an event that deeply permeated all of his writings. Burroughs died at his home in Lawrence, Kansas, after suffering a heart attack in 1997.
A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th century".
His influence is considered to have affected a range of popular culture as well as literature. Burroughs wrote 18 novels and novellas, six collections of short stories and four collections of essays.
Five books have been published of his interviews and correspondences. He also collaborated on projects and recordings with numerous performers and musicians, and made many appearances in films.
He was born to a wealthy family in St. Louis, Missouri, grandson of the inventor and founder of the Burroughs Corporation, William Seward Burroughs I, and nephew of public relations manager Ivy Lee. Burroughs began writing essays and journals in early adolescence. He left home in 1932 to attend Harvard University, studied English, and anthropology as a postgraduate, and later attended medical school in Vienna. After being turned down by the Office of Strategic Services and U.S. Navy in 1942 to serve in World War II, he dropped out and became afflicted with the drug addiction that affected him for the rest of his life, while working a variety of jobs. In 1943 while living in New York City, he befriended Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, the mutually influential foundation of what became the countercultural movement of the Beat Generation.
Much of Burroughs's work is semi-autobiographical, primarily drawn from his experiences as a heroin addict, as he lived throughout Mexico City, London, Paris, Berlin, the South American Amazon and Tangier in Morocco. Finding success with his confessional first novel, Junkie (1953), Burroughs is perhaps best known for his third novel Naked Lunch (1959), a controversy-fraught work that underwent a court case under the U.S. sodomy laws. With Brion Gysin, he also popularized the literary cut-up technique in works such as The Nova Trilogy (1961–64). In 1983, Burroughs was elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and in 1984 was awarded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by France. Jack Kerouac called Burroughs the "greatest satirical writer since Jonathan Swift", a reputation he owes to his "lifelong subversion" of the moral, political and economic systems of modern American society, articulated in often darkly humorous sardonicism. J. G. Ballard considered Burroughs to be "the most important writer to emerge since the Second World War", while Norman Mailer declared him "the only American writer who may be conceivably possessed by genius".
Burroughs had one child, William Seward Burroughs III (1947-1981), with his second wife Joan Vollmer. Vollmer died in 1951 in Mexico City. Burroughs was convicted of manslaughter in Vollmer's death, an event that deeply permeated all of his writings. Burroughs died at his home in Lawrence, Kansas, after suffering a heart attack in 1997.
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September 8, 2023
VELVET UNDERGROUND
Naked Lunch di David Cronenberg (1991).
Raccolta di racconti pubblicata tardi (1989) mette insieme una bella manciata dei primi scritti da William Burroughs, che, o lo ami o è meglio se lo ignori. Io ho optato per la prima soluzione.
Scritti tra il 1953 e il 1958, già usciti su rivista. Il titolo viene dalla Zona Internazionale di Tangeri, una fetta del Marocco a nord (373 km² ) che includeva la città in un protettorato prima governato da Francia, Spagna e UK, poi passato all’interforza di Italia, Belgio, Olanda, Svezia, USA, anomalia amministrativa esistita tra il 1924 e il 1956, quando tornò a far giustamente parte del Marocco.
Burroughs, come tanti altri occidentali, ci visse per un periodo. Era una parte del Marocco e una zona del mondo famosa per la sua apertura e tolleranza delle diversità, vuoi religiose che culturali che sessuali, accogliente per omosessuali e bohemien, frequentata da scrittori e artisti che qui potevano finalmente vivere una vita ‘aperta’ nel chiuso della Interzone.
Contiene quello che viene considerato il primo tentativo letterario di Burroughs, Twilight's Last Gleamings nel quale appare il personaggio del dott. Benway che poi ritorna con rilievo nel Pasto nudo.
Allen Ginsberg e William S. Burroughs.
Si va dal racconto di episodi realmente accaduti a Burroughs da giovane, al disperato gesto à la Van Gogh in The Finger o i due ragazzi ubriachi che distruggono la macchina di papà in Driving Lesson; si passa dalla storia della ricerca della dose quotidiana in un giorno di festa come natale (The Junky's Christmas), ai racconti più direttamente ispirati dalla vita nella “interzone” di Tangeri all’inizio degli anni Cinquanta: non potrebbe mancare la droga, la sua ricerca (una vera caccia) e i suoi effetti, il mondo che le gira intorno: ma anche la disponibilità sessuale di giovani ragazzi (Lee and the Boys), travestiti e vecchie puttane in In the Cafe Central.
Sono inclusi brani ed estratti dal suo diario dell’epoca, lettere a Ginsberg, ritratti (Paul Bowles), ricordi, aneddoti autobiografici.
Leggere questi racconti, leggere Burroughs in generale, per me è stato davvero come entrare in una zona fuori dalla giurisdizione ordinaria, sentirmi accolto in uno spazio mentale ed emotivo fuori dal comune. Anche se credo ci sia del vero nella convinzione abbastanza diffusa che Burroughs sia più citato e nominato che effettivamente letto, che la sua fama e influenza travalichi la sua opera letteraria.
Naked Lunch di David Cronenberg (1991).
Raccolta di racconti pubblicata tardi (1989) mette insieme una bella manciata dei primi scritti da William Burroughs, che, o lo ami o è meglio se lo ignori. Io ho optato per la prima soluzione.
Scritti tra il 1953 e il 1958, già usciti su rivista. Il titolo viene dalla Zona Internazionale di Tangeri, una fetta del Marocco a nord (373 km² ) che includeva la città in un protettorato prima governato da Francia, Spagna e UK, poi passato all’interforza di Italia, Belgio, Olanda, Svezia, USA, anomalia amministrativa esistita tra il 1924 e il 1956, quando tornò a far giustamente parte del Marocco.
Burroughs, come tanti altri occidentali, ci visse per un periodo. Era una parte del Marocco e una zona del mondo famosa per la sua apertura e tolleranza delle diversità, vuoi religiose che culturali che sessuali, accogliente per omosessuali e bohemien, frequentata da scrittori e artisti che qui potevano finalmente vivere una vita ‘aperta’ nel chiuso della Interzone.
Contiene quello che viene considerato il primo tentativo letterario di Burroughs, Twilight's Last Gleamings nel quale appare il personaggio del dott. Benway che poi ritorna con rilievo nel Pasto nudo.
Allen Ginsberg e William S. Burroughs.
Si va dal racconto di episodi realmente accaduti a Burroughs da giovane, al disperato gesto à la Van Gogh in The Finger o i due ragazzi ubriachi che distruggono la macchina di papà in Driving Lesson; si passa dalla storia della ricerca della dose quotidiana in un giorno di festa come natale (The Junky's Christmas), ai racconti più direttamente ispirati dalla vita nella “interzone” di Tangeri all’inizio degli anni Cinquanta: non potrebbe mancare la droga, la sua ricerca (una vera caccia) e i suoi effetti, il mondo che le gira intorno: ma anche la disponibilità sessuale di giovani ragazzi (Lee and the Boys), travestiti e vecchie puttane in In the Cafe Central.
Sono inclusi brani ed estratti dal suo diario dell’epoca, lettere a Ginsberg, ritratti (Paul Bowles), ricordi, aneddoti autobiografici.
Leggere questi racconti, leggere Burroughs in generale, per me è stato davvero come entrare in una zona fuori dalla giurisdizione ordinaria, sentirmi accolto in uno spazio mentale ed emotivo fuori dal comune. Anche se credo ci sia del vero nella convinzione abbastanza diffusa che Burroughs sia più citato e nominato che effettivamente letto, che la sua fama e influenza travalichi la sua opera letteraria.
March 6, 2011
I hate Burroughs. I hate myself for liking this.
The first section of the book is a series of very short stories, funny and offbeat, yet somewhat mediocre, still enjoyable. The last section is the obnoxious, nonsensical, Naked Lunch word-salad Burroughs is know for (I just skimmed those last 40 pages.) The middle section, journals entries, letters, and story fragments, falls somewhere in-between a traditional narrative and his trademark random asinine nonsense, and is delightful, the clash of East v West in Tangier's creating the last refuge of personal freedom (freedom to fuck underage boys of course.)
William Burroughs is a degenerate piece of shit. Even at his best he's not that great, a mediocre writer to be sure. Yet I'll probably read more of his books (what does that say about me?) Will I add the perfunctory disclaimer that Burroughs is a degenerate piece of shit to those future reviews as well? Probably.
The first section of the book is a series of very short stories, funny and offbeat, yet somewhat mediocre, still enjoyable. The last section is the obnoxious, nonsensical, Naked Lunch word-salad Burroughs is know for (I just skimmed those last 40 pages.) The middle section, journals entries, letters, and story fragments, falls somewhere in-between a traditional narrative and his trademark random asinine nonsense, and is delightful, the clash of East v West in Tangier's creating the last refuge of personal freedom (freedom to fuck underage boys of course.)
William Burroughs is a degenerate piece of shit. Even at his best he's not that great, a mediocre writer to be sure. Yet I'll probably read more of his books (what does that say about me?) Will I add the perfunctory disclaimer that Burroughs is a degenerate piece of shit to those future reviews as well? Probably.
June 4, 2015
This is a must read for all Burroughs fans. I always feel inspired to go in new directions with my drawing after I read some Burroughs. Great Stuff.
November 12, 2014
A clutch of credible transgressive stories in the Beat idiom and one slavering toxic outpouring of unreadable pizzle-jizzle in the Beat idiom.
April 9, 2016
A good collection of early work by Burroughs. This book shows the spectrum of the man's work. Divided into three sections, each section is just long enough to engage and enthrall without being too excessive. For instance, the first section contains fairly 'straightforward' tales with little experimentation, stories both of gritty realism and fantasy.
The second section features extracts of the journal Burroughs kept during his drug years in Tangiers as well as letter to such personalities as Ginsberg. The third section is perhaps the most important and yet also the most difficult to read with pleasure. WORD anticipates the frantic wordplay of The Naked Lunch, The Soft Machine and similar such works.
Not only is this collection an interesting insight in the mind of the early Burroughs, but a decent set of writings in its own right.
The second section features extracts of the journal Burroughs kept during his drug years in Tangiers as well as letter to such personalities as Ginsberg. The third section is perhaps the most important and yet also the most difficult to read with pleasure. WORD anticipates the frantic wordplay of The Naked Lunch, The Soft Machine and similar such works.
Not only is this collection an interesting insight in the mind of the early Burroughs, but a decent set of writings in its own right.
September 22, 2019
I have long avoided Burroughs' writing on account of a strong suspicion that I would not really appreciate it. I picked this collection up because I found myself in need (professionally) of sampling his style and prose, and a collection of shorter text seemed more appealing than leaping into a longer piece of writing (especially considered some of my preconceptions of what Burroughs' writing entails).
The collection opens with a very useful introduction by editor James Grauerholtz, who provides a decent biographical and historical background for Burroughs and, in particular, the texts in the collection. As such, this volume, according to Grauerholtz, essentially showcases Burroughs' transition from his early autobiographical Junky and Queer phase to the later full-fledged fantasist of Naked Lunch and beyond. It is divided into three main parts: I. Stories, II. Lee's Journals, and III. Word.
The first section contains eight pieces of short fiction, either full stories or seeming fragments, in a fairly straightforward (albeit occasionally a tad surreal) manner of narration. Surprisingly to me, I found myself really appreciating these stories a lot. Burroughs' use of language won me over and had me engrossed in these stories.
This continued into and throughout the second part, mainly consisting of "Lee's Journals" (including five subheadings to the journal), but also three slightly more separate pieces. Here we are starting to see traces of Interzone (already hinted at in the last story of the first section: "International Zone") and clearly (once more according to Grauerholtz) points towards Naked Lunch. In fact, this far into the book, I had already decided that I wanted to read more Burroughs in the future, adding a number of titles to my wishlists, and more importantly buying Naked Lunch.
And then came the third section, WORD.
Unlike the preceding sections, WORD constitutes a single piece of writing, albeit possibly the most fragmented, digressive, and insane piece of writing I have ever set my eyes on. A stream of words in broken paragraphs, with a grammar that far too often defies grammar on levels of tense, subject–verb agreement, sentence structure, and complete sentences. Add to this that the fragmentary nature of the text reduces any and all sense of characters into mere linguistic markers that pops into the text only to disappear, or maybe pop up later, but without any form of cohesion. Furthermore, the tremendous focus on anal matters (literally speaking) and prostates, washed over by rivers of jissom and more, does not necessarily appeal the most to this particular reader.
In short, this final part of the journey was quite tough going, and it will be a while before I feel ready to make an attempt with Naked Lunch at this point. In fact, part of me cannot help but wonder if I ought not first rather read Junky, which resides further away from "WORD" and closer to the material which I really enjoyed. But perhaps I worry too much. After all, Grauerholtz does stress that "the tone and style of 'WORD' are unique in Burroughs' work; he never returned to the same kind of profane, first-person sibylline word salad, although it marked the breakthrough into his own characteristic voice" (xxii).
And still, despite the struggle itself, I cannot say that "WORD" by necessity is bad. It is what it is. Tremendously weird and unsettling and . . .
However, chances are that had it not been for my struggle with word, this would have been a five star review. That is how strong I feel the first two parts of the book actually are.
So, do I recommend it? Well, certainly not to the timid.
The collection opens with a very useful introduction by editor James Grauerholtz, who provides a decent biographical and historical background for Burroughs and, in particular, the texts in the collection. As such, this volume, according to Grauerholtz, essentially showcases Burroughs' transition from his early autobiographical Junky and Queer phase to the later full-fledged fantasist of Naked Lunch and beyond. It is divided into three main parts: I. Stories, II. Lee's Journals, and III. Word.
The first section contains eight pieces of short fiction, either full stories or seeming fragments, in a fairly straightforward (albeit occasionally a tad surreal) manner of narration. Surprisingly to me, I found myself really appreciating these stories a lot. Burroughs' use of language won me over and had me engrossed in these stories.
This continued into and throughout the second part, mainly consisting of "Lee's Journals" (including five subheadings to the journal), but also three slightly more separate pieces. Here we are starting to see traces of Interzone (already hinted at in the last story of the first section: "International Zone") and clearly (once more according to Grauerholtz) points towards Naked Lunch. In fact, this far into the book, I had already decided that I wanted to read more Burroughs in the future, adding a number of titles to my wishlists, and more importantly buying Naked Lunch.
And then came the third section, WORD.
Unlike the preceding sections, WORD constitutes a single piece of writing, albeit possibly the most fragmented, digressive, and insane piece of writing I have ever set my eyes on. A stream of words in broken paragraphs, with a grammar that far too often defies grammar on levels of tense, subject–verb agreement, sentence structure, and complete sentences. Add to this that the fragmentary nature of the text reduces any and all sense of characters into mere linguistic markers that pops into the text only to disappear, or maybe pop up later, but without any form of cohesion. Furthermore, the tremendous focus on anal matters (literally speaking) and prostates, washed over by rivers of jissom and more, does not necessarily appeal the most to this particular reader.
In short, this final part of the journey was quite tough going, and it will be a while before I feel ready to make an attempt with Naked Lunch at this point. In fact, part of me cannot help but wonder if I ought not first rather read Junky, which resides further away from "WORD" and closer to the material which I really enjoyed. But perhaps I worry too much. After all, Grauerholtz does stress that "the tone and style of 'WORD' are unique in Burroughs' work; he never returned to the same kind of profane, first-person sibylline word salad, although it marked the breakthrough into his own characteristic voice" (xxii).
And still, despite the struggle itself, I cannot say that "WORD" by necessity is bad. It is what it is. Tremendously weird and unsettling and . . .
However, chances are that had it not been for my struggle with word, this would have been a five star review. That is how strong I feel the first two parts of the book actually are.
So, do I recommend it? Well, certainly not to the timid.
July 28, 2011
Unless your baby swallows a quarter, you'll never have to dig through so much infantile shit for so little reward. Seriously, I'd like to blow this book out my ass (with a great bronx cheer) into the toilet where it belongs.
January 25, 2021
"Interzone" was a fascinating compilation of insightful tales about drug abuse and life in the '50s for the lower class, mostly, but also for the artists and creative people who drift around, trying to find a place where they are not merely misfits.
Although I think this is an important piece of literature, I can't say I totally "got it" in the way that one is supposed to "get" a good piece of literature. I've said it before, I've said it again, and I'll say it once more: I don't like most (not all!) "modern" American fiction (Kerouac, Capote, and Burroughs). I understand the purpose of the modern American movement to depict the true lives of the people many people of that time (and still today, sometimes) liked to turn a blind away towards: drug addiction, poverty, etc.. I simply... Don't care for those stories??? They just don't interest me for the most part. Stories about men like Kerouac and Burroughs who moved around America a lot, sleeping around, shooting up heroin, and waking up naked and drunk in the middle of nowhere. These tales simply don't depict deeper aspects of these circumstances in a way of writing literature, that works for me, impresses me, and appeals to me. These stories are important, and I truly respect the movements that these writers followed, for example, I loved Allen Ginsberg's "Howl and Other Poems" and Ginsberg depicts the same sort of tales, but in an exciting and more importantly poetic, fashion that inspires me more. If Ginsberg wrote a novel, I think it would have been a lot like Kerouac and Burroughs's, so I'm not sure if I would like it... But poetry and deeper themes explored are what I care about. These American authors tend to write about situations, but give no insight on the circumstances at all, and rather leave it up to the reader to take what they will from whatever they'd written about. That is my interpretation of what these authors do. It is also possible that they write these stories simply to write them, to depict them and make them known. Truth be told, that's not why I read fiction. I read fiction for my breath to be stolen away by the prose, or to be inspired by another's experiences. These stories don't do it for me.
I'm sorry, long review, and not articulated well. I really respect Burroughs's work, I just don't like the style. However, I do think I might still read "Junky" and "The Naked Lunch" and see how those go.
“I feel there is some hideous new force loose in the world like a creeping sickness, spreading, blighting. Remoter parts of the world seem better now, because they are less touched by it. Control, bureaucracy, regimentation, these are merely symptoms of a deeper sickness that no political or economic program can touch. What is the sickness itself?”
Although I think this is an important piece of literature, I can't say I totally "got it" in the way that one is supposed to "get" a good piece of literature. I've said it before, I've said it again, and I'll say it once more: I don't like most (not all!) "modern" American fiction (Kerouac, Capote, and Burroughs). I understand the purpose of the modern American movement to depict the true lives of the people many people of that time (and still today, sometimes) liked to turn a blind away towards: drug addiction, poverty, etc.. I simply... Don't care for those stories??? They just don't interest me for the most part. Stories about men like Kerouac and Burroughs who moved around America a lot, sleeping around, shooting up heroin, and waking up naked and drunk in the middle of nowhere. These tales simply don't depict deeper aspects of these circumstances in a way of writing literature, that works for me, impresses me, and appeals to me. These stories are important, and I truly respect the movements that these writers followed, for example, I loved Allen Ginsberg's "Howl and Other Poems" and Ginsberg depicts the same sort of tales, but in an exciting and more importantly poetic, fashion that inspires me more. If Ginsberg wrote a novel, I think it would have been a lot like Kerouac and Burroughs's, so I'm not sure if I would like it... But poetry and deeper themes explored are what I care about. These American authors tend to write about situations, but give no insight on the circumstances at all, and rather leave it up to the reader to take what they will from whatever they'd written about. That is my interpretation of what these authors do. It is also possible that they write these stories simply to write them, to depict them and make them known. Truth be told, that's not why I read fiction. I read fiction for my breath to be stolen away by the prose, or to be inspired by another's experiences. These stories don't do it for me.
I'm sorry, long review, and not articulated well. I really respect Burroughs's work, I just don't like the style. However, I do think I might still read "Junky" and "The Naked Lunch" and see how those go.
“I feel there is some hideous new force loose in the world like a creeping sickness, spreading, blighting. Remoter parts of the world seem better now, because they are less touched by it. Control, bureaucracy, regimentation, these are merely symptoms of a deeper sickness that no political or economic program can touch. What is the sickness itself?”
April 26, 2012
Oh dear, where do I start? Well, the first part (i.e. the first 60-70 pags) was great but the last part of the book which was stream-of-consciousness (which I am okay with - sometimes like Joyce or Faulkner okay) is made mince-meat by the addition of Burroughs' trademark cut-ups, rendering the text largely incoherent or repulsive and that is coming from someone who can stomach pretty heavy stuff. I have read plenty of Burroughs' books and have been able to stomach most of them but this just gets ridiculous.
Instead, if you are new to Burroughs, read his first novel Junky (frickin' amazing! and one of the best books of the latter half of the 20th century) or the final trilogy (all 3 books are great) or the well-known Naked Lunch.
Instead, if you are new to Burroughs, read his first novel Junky (frickin' amazing! and one of the best books of the latter half of the 20th century) or the final trilogy (all 3 books are great) or the well-known Naked Lunch.
November 10, 2015
Он познакомился с новым сортом свободы, свободой жить в постоянном напряжении и страхе на пределе своего внутреннего страха и напряжения так, что давление по крайней мере уравнивалось, и впервые за свою взрослую жизнь он понял значение полного расслабления, абсолютного наслаждения моментом. Он чувствовал себя живым всем своим существом. Силы, намеревавшиеся сокрушить его достоинство и существование как индивидуума, так очертили его, что он никогда еще никогда не был так уверен в своей ценности и достоинстве.
***
Это настоящая молитва. "Если вы помолились, это может случиться."
***
Это настоящая молитва. "Если вы помолились, это может случиться."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 30, 2010
My all-time favorite Burroughs book. Junkie's Christmas is my idea of a perfect Christmas stories.
February 22, 2021
Love it when Burroughs GOES OFF!
May 19, 2023
four for the evolution
October 4, 2017
En antropología a veces se usa el concepto de liminalidad para describir el estado de transición en el que se encuentran los participantes de un rito entre su inicio y su fin. Las identidades se disuelven antes de ser reestructuradas en un regreso a la sociedad. Desde su título mismo, Interzone es el registro de ese momento en la vida de Burroughs. A un nivel formal y superficial, documenta el paso de una escritura autobiográfica y prosaica a otra más experimental. Pero lo esencial es que significa el paso de una subjetivación débil, unaria y escapista a una creativa. Interzone/Tánger es una noche oscura del alma. En un momento de su búsqueda Burroughs sigue las formas convencionales de la crónica y escribe sobre ese lugar como una ciudad. Aunque el resultado es superior al promedio, se averguenza de él. Está escribiendo para dejar de ser el insecto de exoesqueleto químico de Junky y para alejarse de la tristeza inalterable de Queer. Y lo logra. Aunque irregulares, los textos de Interzone se sostienen por sí mismos. Juntos son mucho más.
May 8, 2019
Burroughs dili ve yaşantısı yönünden diğer yazarlardan çok farklı, uyuşturucu bağımlısı, topluma karşı uyumsuz ve kazayla da olsa katil.
Yazar -kitabın önsözünde yazana göre- buhran dönemlerinde yazıyormuş yazılarını, o ruh hali de yazılarına işlemiş. Kitaptaki öykülerin hem dili hem de konuları çok garip ve açıkçası itici geldi bana. Okumaktan hiç keyif almadım. Kitaba adını veren Arabölge adlı öyküsü ise daha sakin ve ölçülü bir dille yazılmıştı, o öyküsünü beğendim.
Kitabın ikinci yarısında ise günlükler vardı ki burada da yazarın sağlıksız ve değişken ruh hali belirgin bir şekilde hissediliyor. Ben yazarın dilinden ve ruh halinden rahatsız oldum ve kitaba karşı hiç sempati besleyemedim, Arabölge okumaktan hoşlandığım tek öykü olsa da geri kalan yazınlar ruhumu daralttı diyebilirim. Daha kısıtlı bir çevreye hitap eden, farklı bir kitap.
Yazar -kitabın önsözünde yazana göre- buhran dönemlerinde yazıyormuş yazılarını, o ruh hali de yazılarına işlemiş. Kitaptaki öykülerin hem dili hem de konuları çok garip ve açıkçası itici geldi bana. Okumaktan hiç keyif almadım. Kitaba adını veren Arabölge adlı öyküsü ise daha sakin ve ölçülü bir dille yazılmıştı, o öyküsünü beğendim.
Kitabın ikinci yarısında ise günlükler vardı ki burada da yazarın sağlıksız ve değişken ruh hali belirgin bir şekilde hissediliyor. Ben yazarın dilinden ve ruh halinden rahatsız oldum ve kitaba karşı hiç sempati besleyemedim, Arabölge okumaktan hoşlandığım tek öykü olsa da geri kalan yazınlar ruhumu daralttı diyebilirim. Daha kısıtlı bir çevreye hitap eden, farklı bir kitap.
November 29, 2018
Whenever I need to remember danger and humor, this is mo go-to source. Always a good memory like an innaresting sex arrangement.
January 29, 2023
Short read, after the first part though it’s horrendous to get through. While again, the first part out of three stands alone as semi-structured, provoking in its character description, and showcasing the elements of an impressive writer, all goes off the deep end the further you submerge yourself into the novel.
You have to go into this taking into account that Burroughs was fucking psychotic. Not only in a sense that his struggle with drugs and alcohol exceeded abusive, but he also proves he himself is a horrible person. So now, here is a book written by a horrible man pumped full of narcotics and vodka. The last part, the third one, is simply unreadable. In its subject matter it is inexcusably vile, which was a turn off for me, but on the occasion that you can find yourself forgiving it, the writing itself is incoherent. Random sentences and quotes peppered with obscure poetry that is irrelevant to anything you’ve read thus far. 75 pages of it. Madness.
I think this book is great for anyone who would consider a career in writing, specifically novel work. Burroughs innovating style weaves in and out of different narratives and characters in the parts that make sense, and proves a provoking read in understanding english structure. Besides that, this is horrendous and awfully scattered.
You have to go into this taking into account that Burroughs was fucking psychotic. Not only in a sense that his struggle with drugs and alcohol exceeded abusive, but he also proves he himself is a horrible person. So now, here is a book written by a horrible man pumped full of narcotics and vodka. The last part, the third one, is simply unreadable. In its subject matter it is inexcusably vile, which was a turn off for me, but on the occasion that you can find yourself forgiving it, the writing itself is incoherent. Random sentences and quotes peppered with obscure poetry that is irrelevant to anything you’ve read thus far. 75 pages of it. Madness.
I think this book is great for anyone who would consider a career in writing, specifically novel work. Burroughs innovating style weaves in and out of different narratives and characters in the parts that make sense, and proves a provoking read in understanding english structure. Besides that, this is horrendous and awfully scattered.
November 27, 2019
This is a great collection, bridging the gap between Junky/Queer and Naked Lunch. Essential Burroughs.
April 27, 2023
Burroughs is obviously an insanely complex and unique writer, and the three sections of Interzone perfectly encapsulates that. The distorted narrative and meta-awareness of the Lee/the writer was fascinating. With this being said, I simply could not decipher the last section, “WORD”. I think it will be something I need to return to if I ever read more Burroughs. Interzone somewhat reads like a backwards timeline of the evolution of Burroughs as a writer, and perhaps as an addict? Probably needs three rereads.
Also you should totally read the introductions and forwards to books
Also you should totally read the introductions and forwards to books
October 29, 2023
A transitional work in the Burroughs oeuvre. First part absolutely readable and enjoyable for its sarcastic humour and new journalism feel, which gets even stronger in second part; Lees journals. The third part transgressive and demanding, which clearly has been a inspiration for Samuel Delaneys most overtly analfixated work. Kind of grinds you down if it werent for the pyrotechnical wordsmithery.
December 27, 2013
This collection shows the incredible variety of work Burroughs was capable of. I am going to make "A Junky's Christmas" an annual holiday re-read. I would have liked to read a whole book of stuff like "Spare Ass Annie", which reminded me of the weirder frontiers of Borges.
*Not*, as many of the other reviews here make obvious, for anyone who is viscerally repulsed by Burroughs.
*Not*, as many of the other reviews here make obvious, for anyone who is viscerally repulsed by Burroughs.
June 27, 2008
Some of Burroughs's finest work outside of Naked Lunch.
May 21, 2017
The Interzone is the International Zone in Tangier, Morocco where William Burroughs lived for a time after his accidental shooting of his wife while stupendously high caused him to leave Mexico in something of a hurry. The time that Burroughs spent living in Tangier was greatly influential in the development of his writing style and subject matter and so it is fitting that Interzone is the title of this excellent collection of his early short stories. Interzone features many of the characters and concepts that would be developed more fully in Burroughs’ more famous works such as Nova Express and the seminal Naked Lunch. Although the quality of the stories collected in Interzone is rather variable, the collection is immensely important as marking the turning point from the more traditional first-person style of Burroughs’ earlier novels like Junky and Queer to his later, more experimental works.
Interzone is divided into three distinct sections, the first of which being simply called Stories. Perhaps the most notable of the Stories is “Twilight’s Last Gleamings” which was originally written in 1938 in collaboration with Burroughs’ childhood friend Kells Elvins and is widely accepted as being his first attempt at fiction. Although the story as it appears here in Interzone is a copy from memory of the original, it is still the most complete version of the original that was written by Burroughs and Elvins after they were inspired by hearing about the sinking of the ship the Morro Castle. The majority of Burroughs’ stories are autobiographical to a certain extent, sometimes very disturbingly so. This is particularly true in the case of “The Finger”, a fictionalised account of how Burroughs came to deliberately cut off the last joint of his little finger in an effort to impress a young man in 1939 and how the episode led to a brief spell in a psychiatric hospital. Of the rest of the Stories “The Junky’s Christmas” is perhaps the best and most poignant, telling as it does the story of Danny the Car Wiper, a young junky desperate to score a hit on Christmas Day.
The second section of Interzone is entitled Lee’s Journals and is a further grouping of short stories, this time all written as the first-person recollections of Burroughs’ alter ego William Lee. The musings of Lee’s Journals were assembled from letters written by Burroughs to Alan Ginsberg and from notes he wrote in an attempt to find his own literary voice and to record his time in Tangier. The journals are particularly interesting for the insight that they give to Burroughs’ own struggle and attempts to define himself and to develop his writing, some of the included entries were even written while Burroughs was undergoing heroin cures at Benchimal Hospital, and for the sometimes vicious characterisations of Burroughs’ real-life friends and enemies.
WORD was originally written as part of the Naked Lunch manuscript but since only a few passages survived into the final draft, it is included in Interzone as a novella making up the third section. WORD is particularly significant as, out of all the material collected in Interzone, it best shows the complete transformation that Burroughs’ work underwent as his writing shifted from the conventional to ‘the manic, surreal, wilfully disgusting and violently purgative regurgitation of seemingly random images’. Interestingly, although WORD marked a turning point in Burroughs’ career from which he would never retreat, it’s tone and style are quite unique since he never again went quite so far as to produce such a profane, sometimes incomprehensible, word soup.
Although Junky and Queer were written earlier, it is only through reading Interzone that it is possible to get a true sense of the development of William Burroughs’ literary style and to gain an insight into the genesis of his greatest works, particularly his masterpiece Naked Lunch.
Interzone is divided into three distinct sections, the first of which being simply called Stories. Perhaps the most notable of the Stories is “Twilight’s Last Gleamings” which was originally written in 1938 in collaboration with Burroughs’ childhood friend Kells Elvins and is widely accepted as being his first attempt at fiction. Although the story as it appears here in Interzone is a copy from memory of the original, it is still the most complete version of the original that was written by Burroughs and Elvins after they were inspired by hearing about the sinking of the ship the Morro Castle. The majority of Burroughs’ stories are autobiographical to a certain extent, sometimes very disturbingly so. This is particularly true in the case of “The Finger”, a fictionalised account of how Burroughs came to deliberately cut off the last joint of his little finger in an effort to impress a young man in 1939 and how the episode led to a brief spell in a psychiatric hospital. Of the rest of the Stories “The Junky’s Christmas” is perhaps the best and most poignant, telling as it does the story of Danny the Car Wiper, a young junky desperate to score a hit on Christmas Day.
The second section of Interzone is entitled Lee’s Journals and is a further grouping of short stories, this time all written as the first-person recollections of Burroughs’ alter ego William Lee. The musings of Lee’s Journals were assembled from letters written by Burroughs to Alan Ginsberg and from notes he wrote in an attempt to find his own literary voice and to record his time in Tangier. The journals are particularly interesting for the insight that they give to Burroughs’ own struggle and attempts to define himself and to develop his writing, some of the included entries were even written while Burroughs was undergoing heroin cures at Benchimal Hospital, and for the sometimes vicious characterisations of Burroughs’ real-life friends and enemies.
WORD was originally written as part of the Naked Lunch manuscript but since only a few passages survived into the final draft, it is included in Interzone as a novella making up the third section. WORD is particularly significant as, out of all the material collected in Interzone, it best shows the complete transformation that Burroughs’ work underwent as his writing shifted from the conventional to ‘the manic, surreal, wilfully disgusting and violently purgative regurgitation of seemingly random images’. Interestingly, although WORD marked a turning point in Burroughs’ career from which he would never retreat, it’s tone and style are quite unique since he never again went quite so far as to produce such a profane, sometimes incomprehensible, word soup.
Although Junky and Queer were written earlier, it is only through reading Interzone that it is possible to get a true sense of the development of William Burroughs’ literary style and to gain an insight into the genesis of his greatest works, particularly his masterpiece Naked Lunch.
May 29, 2024
Interzone is a collection of the short stories which, essentially, originally were to make up Naked Lunch, Burrough's most celebrated novel, and due to the internally connected and self-referential nature of Burroughs' whole bibliography (which the introduction points out, and the "Lee's Journals" section of the book calls "kaleidoscopic") this makes it an essential liminal point between the normal, witty autobiographical fiction of Junky and Queer and the cut-up body horror sci-fi dystopian insanity of Naked Lunch. The last section here, The Word, is in a fact a 50+ page plotless diatribe which, although it uses no cut-up method, is as choppy and incomprehensible as the purely cut-up parts of Naked Lunch and thus forms a perfect in-between point between Queer and Naked Lunch. Regrettably, although it can be funny on occasion like when the Egyptian solar god Ra is called "President Ra", the vulgar, sibylline ramblings of The Word, obsessed with Burroughs' conspicuous hanging fetish and the word "boy-" used as a prefix for everything and anything (how ahead of the times there) is also the dullest, most patience-trying part of the book and I can tell why he never wrote like this again.
The rest truly reads like a Naked Lunch Beta of sorts, except unlike that book, there's no connection, however thin, between each chapter (outside of names and characters of course): These are short stories. These can be pretty great at times: the description of Morton Christie, the "pathetic name and table-hopper"from In the Café Central is hysterical and had me rolling and the "article" International Zone is fascinating and entertaining , specially as a prototype of Naked Lunch's proto-cyberpunk Interzone. The section "Lee's Journals" has some choice bits, like some exemplary lines about self-insert fiction writing from the journals themselves:
The short story Spare Ass Annie is likely the highest point of the whole book, short as it is: it feels on par with Naked Lunch itself in tone, subject matter and quality. But most of the book hangs in the "decent" to "good" parts of the quality spectrum.
It is, in any case, worth reading if you have an interest in Burroughs' body of work, for how it captures him at a critical moment of change.
The rest truly reads like a Naked Lunch Beta of sorts, except unlike that book, there's no connection, however thin, between each chapter (outside of names and characters of course): These are short stories. These can be pretty great at times: the description of Morton Christie, the "pathetic name and table-hopper"from In the Café Central is hysterical and had me rolling and the "article" International Zone is fascinating and entertaining , specially as a prototype of Naked Lunch's proto-cyberpunk Interzone. The section "Lee's Journals" has some choice bits, like some exemplary lines about self-insert fiction writing from the journals themselves:
I see the way to solve contradictions, to unite fragmentary, unconnected projects: I will simply transcribe Lee’s impressions of Interzone. The fragmentary quality of the work is inherent in the method and will resolve itself so far as necessary. That is, I include the author, Lee, in the novel, and by so doing separate myself from him so that he becomes another character, central to be sure, occupying a special position, but not myself at all. This could go on in an endless serial arrangement, but I would always be the observer and not the participant by the very act of writing about a figure who represents myself.
The short story Spare Ass Annie is likely the highest point of the whole book, short as it is: it feels on par with Naked Lunch itself in tone, subject matter and quality. But most of the book hangs in the "decent" to "good" parts of the quality spectrum.
It is, in any case, worth reading if you have an interest in Burroughs' body of work, for how it captures him at a critical moment of change.
December 31, 2023
Would it be possible to write a novel based on the actual facts of Interzone or any place?
Lee's Journals - Page 72
Interzone exhibits the transformation of William S. Burroughs as a writer, from the deadpan writing style of his earlier books Junkie and Queer to the colorful avant-garde prose of Naked Lunch.
The first section of the book (Stories) was good. The first story, Twilight's Last Gleamings, written with childhood friend Kells Elvins in 1938 while Burroughs was attending Harvard, is believed to be his first attempt at fiction. I loved The Junky's Christmas and International Zone. Seeing stories like The Finger which show Burroughs' style of incorporating autobiographical events into his writing was interesting. Though, the section failed to engage me as much as I had hoped it would.
The second section of the book (Lee's Journals) was fantastic. The brief notes Burroughs made during his travels are shown in this section and give a small glimpse into his life and ideas he had for Naked Lunch, which was named Interzone at the time. As I was reading it, something magical happened. I could see, in real time, Burroughs' writing style change. The way he formulated descriptions, wrote dialogue, etc. became more reminiscent of his later works. It was amazing. That really got me going.
The 60 pages long third and final section of the book (Word) was like a butterfly completing metamorphosis. Here's the first sentence: "The Word is divided into units which be all in one piece and should be so taken, but the pieces can be had in any order being tied up back and forth in and out fore and aft like an innaresting sex arrangement." This practically sums up the whole segment and Burroughs' later works. Here we see THE WORD HOARD, a colossal body of text Burroughs' produced over the span of about 4 years, front and center. I absolutely loved it, and at the same time... It felt like a slog to get through. Burroughs' use of comedy, though, is what kept me engaged. The repetition of phrases and concepts (such as the Bronx cheer) was amusing.
Overall, Interzone is a decent book. For the Burroughs acolyte.
Lee's Journals - Page 72
Interzone exhibits the transformation of William S. Burroughs as a writer, from the deadpan writing style of his earlier books Junkie and Queer to the colorful avant-garde prose of Naked Lunch.
The first section of the book (Stories) was good. The first story, Twilight's Last Gleamings, written with childhood friend Kells Elvins in 1938 while Burroughs was attending Harvard, is believed to be his first attempt at fiction. I loved The Junky's Christmas and International Zone. Seeing stories like The Finger which show Burroughs' style of incorporating autobiographical events into his writing was interesting. Though, the section failed to engage me as much as I had hoped it would.
The second section of the book (Lee's Journals) was fantastic. The brief notes Burroughs made during his travels are shown in this section and give a small glimpse into his life and ideas he had for Naked Lunch, which was named Interzone at the time. As I was reading it, something magical happened. I could see, in real time, Burroughs' writing style change. The way he formulated descriptions, wrote dialogue, etc. became more reminiscent of his later works. It was amazing. That really got me going.
The 60 pages long third and final section of the book (Word) was like a butterfly completing metamorphosis. Here's the first sentence: "The Word is divided into units which be all in one piece and should be so taken, but the pieces can be had in any order being tied up back and forth in and out fore and aft like an innaresting sex arrangement." This practically sums up the whole segment and Burroughs' later works. Here we see THE WORD HOARD, a colossal body of text Burroughs' produced over the span of about 4 years, front and center. I absolutely loved it, and at the same time... It felt like a slog to get through. Burroughs' use of comedy, though, is what kept me engaged. The repetition of phrases and concepts (such as the Bronx cheer) was amusing.
Overall, Interzone is a decent book. For the Burroughs acolyte.
July 18, 2024
I kind of hate myself for starting all these William Burroughs novels and DNFing. As I said in my review of an omnibus of his: I guess I'm just a Kerouac man.
The contents of this book are generally much more linear than the author's earlier, acclaimed 'Nova Trilogy' books - which were labeled 'novels,' but in reality were more like secret, evil experiments loosed upon the world. These experiments, wholly successful or not, are nonetheless pure Genius of the Mad Scientist variety. Burroughs synthesizes steaming concoctions of viral words and injects them right into your jugular vein. Those early works were nothing short of brilliant. Though not for everybody.
Which brings us to this book, Interzone, which is a collection of fragments from about the time he was writing Naked Lunch in Tangier. This would be from approx 1953-58. A fertile period for the author. The first section is a sampling of Burroughs' 'routines' from the period, which vary in quality from uninspired to quite poignant. There's even a Christmas story.
The second portion is titled "Lee's Notebooks' and consists of barely fictionalized journal entries. An interesting, intimate glimpse into the author's life in Tangier. Any Beat Generation scholar, either professional or hoplessly amatuer - or even just the curious casual fan - will find a treasure box of helpful biographical information.
Part Three: WORD. A surreal, obviously Burroughsian, nightmare. Does not make much sense, but the language delivers hard. This is really fun to read out loud (with feeling, of course.) I may go back to it some day and read it properly through.
Thinking about it, the writings herein are what amounts to Bill Burroughs diary entries and unpublished scraps. I wish my casual doodling could be as good as this.
The contents of this book are generally much more linear than the author's earlier, acclaimed 'Nova Trilogy' books - which were labeled 'novels,' but in reality were more like secret, evil experiments loosed upon the world. These experiments, wholly successful or not, are nonetheless pure Genius of the Mad Scientist variety. Burroughs synthesizes steaming concoctions of viral words and injects them right into your jugular vein. Those early works were nothing short of brilliant. Though not for everybody.
Which brings us to this book, Interzone, which is a collection of fragments from about the time he was writing Naked Lunch in Tangier. This would be from approx 1953-58. A fertile period for the author. The first section is a sampling of Burroughs' 'routines' from the period, which vary in quality from uninspired to quite poignant. There's even a Christmas story.
The second portion is titled "Lee's Notebooks' and consists of barely fictionalized journal entries. An interesting, intimate glimpse into the author's life in Tangier. Any Beat Generation scholar, either professional or hoplessly amatuer - or even just the curious casual fan - will find a treasure box of helpful biographical information.
Part Three: WORD. A surreal, obviously Burroughsian, nightmare. Does not make much sense, but the language delivers hard. This is really fun to read out loud (with feeling, of course.) I may go back to it some day and read it properly through.
Thinking about it, the writings herein are what amounts to Bill Burroughs diary entries and unpublished scraps. I wish my casual doodling could be as good as this.
March 28, 2022
Stories, Lee's Journals, Word.
Three parts to a book where the easiest to understand is the first. 'Stories' is spectacular: introducing the world to the Interzone (i.e. Tanger). The city that gives birth to these word combinations "a final debacle of misunderstandings", "a ghastly, meaningless aggregate", "the listening post", "no sharp line of separation", "mesh with time-place", "some form of transmigration". The city that attracts the imagination because "it is a metaphor for somewhere at the end of the world, a dead-end place of limbo and reconstruction of the world on a micro-level". A city that changes you: taking your vices to the extreme one day and leaving you bored at home with rain the other; takes your idea of who you are and makes you question it, in absolute terms.
The rest is really interesting and strange as always with Burroughs...it's art more than anything...written art...it's what you make of it...it's Ginsberg, Gysin, Kerouak...it's drugs, rehab and relapse. It's sex.
Three parts to a book where the easiest to understand is the first. 'Stories' is spectacular: introducing the world to the Interzone (i.e. Tanger). The city that gives birth to these word combinations "a final debacle of misunderstandings", "a ghastly, meaningless aggregate", "the listening post", "no sharp line of separation", "mesh with time-place", "some form of transmigration". The city that attracts the imagination because "it is a metaphor for somewhere at the end of the world, a dead-end place of limbo and reconstruction of the world on a micro-level". A city that changes you: taking your vices to the extreme one day and leaving you bored at home with rain the other; takes your idea of who you are and makes you question it, in absolute terms.
The rest is really interesting and strange as always with Burroughs...it's art more than anything...written art...it's what you make of it...it's Ginsberg, Gysin, Kerouak...it's drugs, rehab and relapse. It's sex.
October 16, 2017
I admit I did not finish this book. I really enjoyed some of the stories and liked the diary entries, but the book ends with one of Burroughs’ trademark disjointed ramblings that I somehow made it 20 pages into. Burroughs in the form of a short story is great because his work is so segmented anyways and I think he’s able to better connect more of his thoughts in the shorter form. I cannot get into the cut-up style although it is interesting to begin with. Maybe it would be better in smaller doses, it’s definitely not something you can handle for an extended period of time.
February 10, 2024
It was worth reading alone for the short stories "The Finger" - based on an emotionally wrecked Burroughs chopping off the end of his left little finger to impress a young man with whom he had strong desires for, and "The Junky's Christmas" - a desperate young drug addict trying to score on Christmas Day. There wasn't really a bad piece in this collection, from the hilarious and ghastly to the sentimental and surreal, but these two I'll remember the most. I was not struck on Burroughs to begin with but he's grown on me over time.
June 13, 2024
Burroughs is obviously an insanely complex and unique writer, and the three sections of Interzone perfectly encapsulates that. The distorted narrative and meta-awareness of the Lee/the writer was fascinating. With this being said, I simply could not decipher the last section, “WORD”. I think it will be something I need to return to if I ever read more Burroughs. Interzone somewhat reads like a backwards timeline of the evolution of Burroughs as a writer, and perhaps as an addict? Probably needs three rereads.
Also you should totally read the introductions and forwards to books
Also you should totally read the introductions and forwards to books
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