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RUB OUT THE WORDS

Name: RUB OUT THE WORDS
Author: William S. Burroughs
ISBN: 978-0-06-171142-8

THE LETTERS OF WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS, 1959-1974

by William S. Burroughs edited by Bill Morgan ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 7, 2012

Each letter is a window that permits a fresh view of a most complex and revolutionary writer.

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A continuation of the selected letters of the unique writer in the same format as editor Olivia Harris’ The Letters of William S. Burroughs 1945–1959 (1993).

Beat Generation expert Morgan (The Typewriter Is Holy: The Complete, Uncensored History of the Beat Generation, 2010, etc.) has assembled a representative selection from the 1,000-plus letters that Burroughs (1914–1997) wrote during the 15 years the collection comprises. Most are to three correspondents: his son, Billy; his friends and colleagues Allen Ginsberg and Brion Gysin. Billy, we learn through the letters, had adolescent troubles with drugs (are we surprised?), including several arrests—but by the end of these letters he was married and having some publishing success as William Burroughs Jr. Ginsberg’s role as principal confidante was soon assumed by Gysin, to whom Burroughs wrote most frankly about everything from gay porn to drugs and Timothy Leary (whom he grew to revile) to philosophies of composition to books he liked (Dune, The Godfather) or despised (In Cold Blood). Included is a vicious letter Burroughs wrote in 1970 to Truman Capote, accusing Capote of betraying, even killing, his talent. Many of the letters deal with the process first employed by Gysin and then adopted and championed by Burroughs—the “cut-up” process. For years Burroughs was enamored of this technique of snipping passages from publications and pasting them up in novel arrangements. He tried the technique with photographs, motion pictures and audio recordings as well—all discussed at length in the letters. Burroughs also followed some complex choreography with scientology and L. Ron Hubbard, whom he later accused of creating a “fascist cosmos.” Perhaps most surprising: Burroughs’ phenomenal work ethic and assiduousness.

Each letter is a window that permits a fresh view of a most complex and revolutionary writer.

Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2012

ISBN: 978-0-06-171142-8

Page Count: 480

Publisher: Ecco/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Nov. 20, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2011

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS' "THE REVISED BOY SCOUT MANUAL"
by William S. Burroughs edited by Geoffrey D. Smith John M. Bennett

- BOOK REVIEW
AND THE HIPPOS WERE BOILED IN THEIR TANKS
by William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac

- BOOK REVIEW
THE PLACE OF DEAD ROADS
by William S. Burroughs

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.