EBOOK
Don't Hide the Madness
William S. Burroughs in Conversation with Allen Ginsberg
William S. Burroughs4.5
(6)
About
Two seminal figures of the Beat movement, Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs, discuss literary influences and personal history in a never-before-published three-day conversation following the release of the David Cronenberg film adaptation of Burroughs' revolutionary novel Naked Lunch. The visit coincided with the shamanic exorcism of the demon that Burroughs believed had caused him to fatally shoot his common law wife, Joan Vollmer Burroughs, in 1951-the event that Burroughs believed had driven his work as a writer. The conversation is interspersed with 17 photographs taken by Ginsberg revealing Burroughs's daily activities from his painting studio to the shooting range. DON'T HIDE THE MADNESS presents and important, hitherto unpublished primary document of the Beat Generation.
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Reviews
"Steven Taylor's transcriptions of Bill and Allen's table talk are so accurate that it is just like being there with them: Bill restless, changing the subject - Allen doggedly pursuing his point. I learned much from it. If only we had them with us now."
Barry Miles, author, Hippie and Call Me Burroughs
"A surprising page-turner, full of hilarity and intimate asides-transcribed into an extremely readable and satisfying fly-on-the-wall of literary history . . . will make both fanboy and scholar sit up straight at attention. Oh, and the R. Crumb cover portrait of Allen & Bill is magnificent!"
Sensitive Skin
"Lightly but helpfully annotated and peppered with Ginsberg's own snapshots of Burroughs in repose, this must-have resource for beat aficionados will stimulate more casual readers as well with its sense of being in the same room, and thoroughly in tune, with two legendary literary iconoclasts."
Publishers Weekly