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Throughout Burroughs 1960's work he consistently used a trope in which he took out the first letter of the name of a city - Ome Oston Ey York Onalulu, etc.

I cannot remember what that's all about. Anyone know the significance behind that?

Isn't this from the first batch of cut-ups in Minutes to Go or somesuch? From a newspaper, possibly a list of city names with a random snip cutting off their first letters.

It sure sounds ominous with repetition.

It's not in Minutes to Go as far as I can tell. I just checked the Burroughs sections. You begin to see it around '63 or '64 up to about '66, I think.

Something tells me he just thought it was funny.

I know he does that trick in Soft Machine, but I can't remember whether it was in the first Olympia Press edition or was introduced in one of the later revisions.

Pretty sure it wasn't in the 1st edition. I think it makes it into the TTE as well. Also, it's in the articles and pieces he published during that time. My Own Mag 12 has it on the second page of his portion.

Wait, I remember. Its a Brion Gysin piece. In MINUTES TO GO and if I'm remembering wrong, THIRD MIND. The section called "First Cut-Ups" Or am I right both ways, and its a MINUTES TO GO piece that's reprinted in THE THIRD MIND in that "First Cut-Ups" section along with pieces by Beiles and WSB?

Gysin does all the city names mentioned plus some other ones. It must be from those early "stanley blade" razor jobs.

I'm not near my books so I can't check, anybody have a Third Mind about? Probably in that Brion Gysin reader too.

Yes, you're correct, it is first in 3rd Mind. Not a book I know so well and I only know the WSB parts of Minutes to Go.

Now the question is why did WSB keep using that trope?