James Grauerholz

Reasons Burroughs was a great writer:

* He wrote the truth, at least as he knew it, but it is a truth most of us should agree with.
* He knew how to write. When he wants, he can write clear descriptive prose that Fitzgerald or Steinbeck would have been proud of. When using his cut-up method, the words still convey a meaning that I think is pretty clear to a reader who is willing to just let them drift over him.
* He knew a lot about a lot. It is amazing how much knowledge he drags into his works, and even through his very personal lens, it shows a lot of understanding.
* He can be hysterically funny.
* He can be helpful. See the guide to Doing Easy extracted from The Exterminator. It was my favorite part of that book and it should truly be published as a self-help guide.

Yes, he could also write some pretty extreme stuff--particularly if you are homophobic. Get over it. Also if you're a drugophobe.

Grauerholz and Silverberg have done us all a favor by collecting these extracts from Burroughs' oeuvre. Grauerholz's biographical essays that begin each part are well written and help explain the texts that follow.

Don't be afraid of Burroughs. He can no longer be in a room with you. He can no longer want to play William Tell. Now, you can just sit back and enjoy his genius.… (more)

Hhmm.. well there's another edition listed here from Penguin, same date, same ISBN, different cover, &, most importantly, DIFFERENT NUMBER OF PAGES. It's an Amazon listing wch I've come to learn means OFTEN WRONG, sometimes DRASTICALLY WRONG - like listing the wrong author, giving a bk description that's for a completely different bk, etc. I suppose those mistakes cd've been added by someone else later & might not always originate w/ Amazon but if I see a mistake or something that seems wrong I always check to see if it's an Amazon entry & if it is then that adds further likelihood that what seems wrong really is a mistake. ANYWAY, rather than change the number of pages on the already existing entry, I've just made this new one - that way I can add the correct cover art for the edition I'm reviewing.

"Interzone": by the time I got around to reading this one, I was long-since a bit burnt-out on Burroughs. James Grauerholz edited it. I think this was earlier writings compiled at a later date. Now Grauerholz is to be commended for gathering all this. I always had the impression that Grauerholz helped organize Burroughs' life & writings in such a way so that Burroughs cd make a better (& well-deserved) living off of his writing. That's all well & good. But I read an interview w/ Grauerholz once where he sd something snotty about Burroughs' son - something along the lines of Grauerholz obviously being the object of Burroughs' affection & not B's son. G seemed to revel in this. That seemed particularly vicious & repulsive to me so it contributed to my dislike of G. Maybe that's ridiculous of me: after all, I don't know the guy, printed matter interviews are hardly to be trusted, etc.. Nonetheless, anything edited by Grauerholz has always seemed somewhat tainted to me.

SO, when I read "Interzone", I just didn't care anymore. What had intrigued me about Burroughs I'd long since become jaded to. The ideas weren't fresh anymore. Still, that's only b/c of the way the bk fit into my personal trajectory. A fresh reader who'd never read Burroughs before wd, quite probably, find it an astounding & important bk.… (more)