RealityStudio
Mapping Floating Bear
| Author | Jed Birmingham |
| Date | 5 Feb 2010 |
| Subject | Jed has begun a project to map the distribution of Floating Bear, the mimeo publication put out by Diane Di Prima and LeRoi Jones. He has posted a spreadsheet to the Floating Bear archive. If anyone happens to have a Floating Bear with a mailing label, please contact Jed with the information. Thanks. |
| Link | Floating Bear Archive |
William S. Burroughs’ Roosevelt after Inauguration: Autopsy or To See for Yourself
| Author | Jed Birmingham |
| Date | 1 Feb 2010 |
| Subject | Jed makes the case for a materialist reading of mimeo publications, beginning with the Fuck You edition of William S. Burroughs’ early and controversial routine Roosevelt after Inauguration |
| Link | William S. Burroughs’ Roosevelt after Inauguration: Autopsy or To See for Yourself |
Collecting William S. Burroughs in Print: A Checklist
| Author | Eric C. Shoaf |
| Date | 25 Jan 2010 |
| Subject | Eric Shoaf has now contributed the entirety of his important checklist of Burroughs items to RealityStudio. In addition to the Burroughs books and “Not in Maynard & Miles” bibliographies previously available, RealityStudio now hosts Shoaf’s checklist of B Items (Burroughs contributions to books and anthologies), C Items (Burroughs contributions to periodicals), and publications about Burroughs. |
| Link | Collecting William S. Burroughs in Print: A Checklist |
Interview with Filmmaker Andre Perkowski
| Author | Graham Rae |
| Date | 11 Jan 2010 |
| Subject | Graham Rae interviews filmmaker Andre Perkowski, creator of the brilliant, “10-years-in-the-making-and-making-and-making” film of William S. Burroughs’ Nova Express |
| Link | Interview with Filmmaker Andre Perkowski |
Letters from William S. Burroughs to Antony Balch
| Author | Jed Birmingham |
| Date | 11 Jan 2010 |
| Subject | Jed presents a selection of correspondence between William S. Burroughs and filmmaker Antony Balch |
| Link | Letters from William S. Burroughs to Antony Balch |
Updates: Fuck You Press and C Press
| Author | Jed Birmingham |
| Date | 11 Jan 2010 |
| Subject | The archives for both Fuck You Press and C Press have been updated with additional material. |
| Link 1 | Fuck You Press Archive |
| Link 2 | C Press Archive |
William Burroughs and David Solomon
| Author | Jed Birmingham |
| Date | 14 Dec 2009 |
| Subject | Using previously uncollected correspondence and ephemera, Jed tells the tale of David Solomon, who was an early admirer of Burroughs’ work, an early proponent of LSD, a successful editor, and ultimately a failed drug kingpin. |
| Link | William Burroughs and David Solomon |
The Mouth Inside: The Voices of Naked Lunch
| Author | Ian MacFadyen |
| Date | 7 Dec 2009 |
| Subject | Ian MacFadyen offers a brilliant meditation on the role of the voice and the mouth in William Burroughs’ magnum opus. Accompanying the text are paintings from Phil Wood’s “Postcards from Purgatory.” |
| Link | The Mouth Inside: The Voices of Naked Lunch |
William Burroughs and the William Tell Legend
| Author | Jed Birmingham |
| Date | 23 Nov 2009 |
| Subject | Jed offers a creative reading of the William Tell legend and its implications for the pivotal event in William Burroughs’ life — the shooting death of his wife Joan Vollmer Burroughs. |
| Link | William Burroughs and the William Tell Legend |
Mimeo Mimeo 3
| Author | Jed Birmingham |
| Date | 23 Nov 2009 |
| Subject | In addition to writing for RealityStudio, Jed Birmingham collaborates with Kyle Schlesinger on Mimeo Mimeo, a blog and printed zine dedicated to artists’ books and the mimeo revolution. Hot off the presses is Mimeo Mimeo #3: The Danny Snelson Issue, which also contains an insert, “The Infernal Method,” written, designed and printed letterpress by Aaron Cohick. See the Mimeo Mimeo web site for ordering details. |
The Frisco Kid He Never Returns: Naked Lunch and San Francisco
| Author | Oliver Harris |
| Date | 21 November 2009 |
| Subject | Oliver Harris looks at the relationship — or non-relationship? — between Naked Lunch and San Francisco in a transcript to the talk given at the San Francisco Art Institute during the NL@50 homage. |
| Link | The Frisco Kid He Never Returns: Naked Lunch and San Francisco |
The Soft Machines
| Author | Dave Teeuwen |
| Date | 17 Nov 2009 |
| Subject | Dave offers an overview of the three different editions of William S. Burroughs’ cut-up novel The Soft Machine. |
| Link | The Soft Machines |
William Burroughs and the History of Heroin
| Author | Jed Birmingham |
| Date | 2 Nov 2009 |
| Subject | Jed argues that William Burroughs’ heroin addiction, seen in light of the history of heroin usage and trafficking since World War II, offers unique insights into the author of Junkie and Naked Lunch. |
| Link | William Burroughs and the History of Heroin |
Interview with Graham Masterton on William S. Burroughs
| Author | Dave Teeuwen |
| Date | 2 Nov 2009 |
| Subject | Dave interviews Graham Masterton, who befriended Burroughs in Swinging London, published him in Mayfair, and worked with him on the hard-to-find cut-up book Rules of Duel. |
| Link | Interview with Graham Masterton on William S. Burroughs |
From Dr Mabuse to Doc Benway: The Myths and Manuscripts of Naked Lunch
| Author | Oliver Harris |
| Date | 26 October 2009 |
| Subject | Oliver Harris dissects the myths behind the creation of Naked Lunch in a transcript to the talk given recently at Columbia University during the NL@50 homage. |
| Link | From Dr Mabuse to Doc Benway: The Myths and Manuscripts of Naked Lunch |
William Burroughs and Norman Mailer
| Author | Jed Birmingham |
| Date | 14 October 2009 |
| Subject | Norman Mailer dubbed the author of Naked Lunch a genius, but his real estimation of William Burroughs was complex. Jed takes a look at Mailer, the White Negro, the Beats, Burroughs, and writers who attack their wives. |
| Link | William Burroughs and Norman Mailer |
William S. Burroughs’ “Abstracts”
| Author | Dave Teeuwen |
| Date | 29 September 2009 |
| Subject | Offering a series of “Abstracts” published by William Burroughs in little mags, Dave Teeuwen shows how they contributed to The Wild Boys and marked a significant turning point in Burroughs’ work. |
| Link | William S. Burroughs’ “Abstracts” |
Charles Bukowski, William Burroughs, and the Computer
| Author | Jed Birmingham |
| Date | 10 September 2009 |
| Subject | Charles Bukowski wrote on an Apple computer. William Burroughs apparently didn’t use a computer at all. Jed offers some thoughts on writers, their machines, and literature in the digital age. |
| Link | Charles Bukowski, William Burroughs, and the Computer |
Michael Stevens’ Road to Interzone
| Author | News |
| Date | 28 August 2009 |
| Subject | Michael Stevens’ excellent Road to Interzone: Reading William S. Burroughs Reading is finally available in print. Road to Interzone, a bibliography of books known to have been read by Burroughs, is literally a must-have for any Burroughsian.
(Disclaimer: The creators of RealityStudio offered blurbs for the printed book not out of friendship for the author but because Road to Interzone definitely belongs on any shelf that contains Ted Morgan’s Literary Outlaw, Maynard & Miles’ Burroughs bibliography, Shoaf’s checklist, etc.) You can order the book directly from its publisher, Suicide Press, or if you feel a moral obligation not to buy a book without giving Amazon a cut, you can buy it there too. |
RealityStudio Highlights
Archives and Scans
| Author | Jed Birmingham |
| Subject | RealityStudio has a vast archive of incredible Burroughs and small-press rarities that includes complete scans of William S. Burroughs’ Time and APO-33, as well as a number of little mags. |
| Link 1 | William S. Burroughs’ Time |
| Link 2 | William S. Burroughs’ APO-33 |
| Link 3 | Complete My Own Mag Archive |
| Link 4 | Fuck You Press Archive |
| Link 5 | Kulchur Archive |
| Link 6 | Floating Bear Archive |
| Link 7 | Rhinozeros Archive |
| Link 8 | Locus Solus Archive |
| Link 9 | Evergreen Review Archive |
| Link 10 | Burroughs in Men’s Mags Archive |
| Link 11 | The Word (Naked Lunch Outtake) in Swank |
| Link 12 | Bulletin from Nothing Archive |
| Link 13 | Burroughs Text in January 1960 Mademoiselle |
Death in Paris by Carl Weissner
| Author | Carl Weissner |
| Date | 24 July 2009 |
| Subject | RealityStudio is very proud to present a previously unpublished text by Carl Weissner, along with an archive of materials celebrating his achievements in the avant-garde press |
| Link | Death in Paris by Carl Weissner |
Hikuta!: Burroughs and His Guns
| Author | Tom Peschio |
| Date | 12 March 2009 |
| Subject | Tom Peschio provides an insider’s glimpse of a “dangerous guy” and his guns. |
| Link | Hikuta!: Burroughs and His Guns |
And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks
| Author | Jed Birmingham |
| Date | 5 Nov 2008 |
| Subject | Jed reviews the newly released And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks and finds that something may be hiding in plain sight, an act of self-censorship with dramatic consequences to the text and the real-world characters on whom it is based. |
| Link | And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks |
William S. Burroughs and Joy Division
| Author | RealityStudio |
| Date | 29 May 2008 |
| Subject | Literary references are frequent in the work of seminal post-punk band Joy Division, and singer Ian Curtis greatly admired William Burroughs in particular. Both the band and the author appeared at a 1979 performance, after which Curtis introduced himself to the famous author. Was the meeting, as legend has it, a disappointment? RealityStudio pieces together the story with recollections from those who were there… |
| Link | William S. Burroughs and Joy Division |
David Britton and Michael Butterworth on William S. Burroughs
| Author | RealityStudio |
| Date | 24 March 2008 |
| Subject | To mark the publication of Horror Panegyric, an essay by Supervert (creator of RealityStudio) on their Lord Horror novels, David Britton and Michael Butterworth — writers both and founders of Savoy Books — expand on their thoughts about William S. Burroughs. |
| Link | David Britton and Michael Butterworth on William S. Burroughs |
Everything Lost, The Latin American Notebook of William S. Burroughs: The Inside Story
| Author | Oliver Harris |
| Date | 17 Dec 2007 |
| Subject | Everything Lost, The Latin American Notebook of William S. Burroughs is due to be released on 17 December 2007. In honor of the occasion, Volume Editor Oliver Harris offers the inside story — how the notebook was discovered, deciphered, transcribed, and prepared for publication. (And be sure to order your copy of Everything Lost at Amazon.) |
| Link | Everything Lost, The Latin American Notebook of William S. Burroughs: The Inside Story |
Henry Miller and William Burroughs
| Author | RealityStudio |
| Date | 18 July 2007 |
| Subject | Astonishingly, the relationship between Henry Miller and William Burroughs has gone largely unmapped in literary scholarship. Seeking to rectify this omission, RealityStudio surveys the relationship of the two writers in an overview and Ian MacFadyen adds further insights in a response. |
| Link 1 | Henry Miller and William Burroughs: An Overview |
| Link 2 | Henry Miller and William Burroughs: A Letter |
Cutting up the Archive: William Burroughs and the Composite Text
| Author | Oliver Harris |
| Date | 11 Jun 2007 |
| Subject | RealityStudio is proud to present the text of a talk recently given by Burroughs scholar Oliver Harris, author of William Burroughs and the Secret of Fascination, editor of Burroughs’ letters, Junky: The Definitive Text of “Junk”, and most recently Yage Redux. |
| Link | Cutting up the Archive: William Burroughs and the Composite Text |
A William S. Burroughs Bibliography
| Author | Eric C. Shoaf |
| Date | April 2007 |
| Subject | Eric C. Shoaf, author of Collecting William S. Burroughs in Print: A Checklist, has very kindly contributed his bibliography of books and broadside prints to RealityStudio.Alongside the Maynard & Miles bibliography published in 1978, the Shoaf checklist has long been the most definitive listing of Burroughs publications available. In addition to books and broadsides, the printed checklist also itemizes Burroughs contributions to other books and periodicals, criticism, and miscellanea. This online edition, prefaced and updated by Mr. Shoaf, will no doubt be a tremendous asset to the community of Burroughs scholars and enthusiasts. |
| Link | A William S. Burroughs Bibliography |
Jan Herman’s Burroughs / Balch Video
| Author | Jan Herman |
| Date | Sept 2006 |
| Subject | Jan Herman has worked all summer with RealityStudio to recover a video experiment he created in 1971 with William S. Burroughs and Antony Balch. Never before seen by anyone but the participants, the video is presented here to the public for the first time. |
| Link | Burroughs / Balch Video Experiment |
Transitional Period vs Gongs of Violence
| Author | RealityStudio |
| Date | 15 August 2006 |
| Subject | RealityStudio provides a side-by-side comparison of a 1961 Burroughs cut-up and a later version of the (same?) text from The Soft Machine. |
| Link | Transitional Period vs Gongs of Violence |