Through critical readings Gerald Alva Miller, Jr., examines the
life of William S. Burroughs and the evolution of his various
radical styles not just in writing but also in audio, film, and
painting. Although Burroughs remains tied to the Beat Generation,
his works prove more revolutionary. Miller argues that Burroughs,
more than any other author, ushered in the era of both postmodern
fiction and poststructural philosophy. Through this study Miller
situates Burroughs within the larger countercultural movements that
began in the 1950s, when his novels became influential because of
their examination of various control systems (from sex and drugs to
global or even intergalactic conspiracies).Understanding William S.
Burroughs begins by considering his early, straightforward
narratives. Despite being more stylistically conventional, they
broke new ground with their depictions of junkies, gay people, and
others marginalized by society. The publication of Naked Lunch
shattered all literary paradigms in terms of form and content.
Naked Lunch and the cut-up novels, recordings, films, and art that
followed constitute one of the twentieth century's most sustained
and methodical aesthetic experiments, placing Burroughs alongside
Franz Kafka, Jorge Luis Borges, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett,
Vladimir Nabokov, and Thomas Pynchon in terms of both innovation
and influence. Burroughs eventually turned his attention toward
imagining methods of using the control "machinery" against itself.
Often considered his masterpiece, the Red Night Trilogy of the
1980s ranges across time and space, and life and death, in its
quest to discover the ultimate form of freedom. His
antiestablishment stance and virulent attacks on various types of
oppression have caused Burroughs to remain a highly influential
figure to each new generation of authors, artists, musicians, and
philosophers. The hippies, punks, and cyberpunks were all heavily
indebted to the man whom many people called el hombre invisible,
and his works prove more relevant than ever in the twenty-first
century.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
(4)
(1)
