Junky is the kind of novel that you cannot read until you abandon all pretenses. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading junky. The definitive text of junk penguin modern classics by burroughs, william s. This book brings them vividly to life again it is an unvarnished field report from the american postwar underground. Feb 01, 2014 the original cover of junkie by william lee second, although the bulk of junky was in place before the killing, burroughs continued to revise the text at least as late as july 1952, including. It is a short, quick read and a superb glimpse behind the curtains of the fifties counterculture. Six years before he published his breakthrough novel, naked lunch 1959, william s. The definitive text of junk 50th anniversary edition by william s.
This novel tells stories of lurid adventures and serious drug abuseall from the junkies point of view. Its a very straightforward, nononsense and notearjerker experience as burroughs. Burroughs, is a seductive story set at the inception of the hip subculture in america. Junky and william burroughs oblique moral vision its apparently impassive descriptions of a heroin addicts life still lay out rights and wrongs pretty plainly sam jordison. William leebillis the narrator and protagonist of the novel. In his debut novel, junky, burroughs fictionalized his experiences using and peddling heroin and other drugs in the 1950s into a work that reads like a field report from the underworld of postwar america. It is a way of life william burroughs, legendary drug addict, founder member of the beats and author of naked lunch, relates with unflinching realism the addicts life.
Junky is burroughss first book and is written in a very straightforward, almost journalistic, style. Mar 04, 2008 the best of william burroughs from giorno poetry systems. Burroughs was born on february 5, 1914 in st louis. Junky part 3 of 11 by wlliam s bourroughs 1953 duration. It is a short, quick read and a superb glimpse behind the curtains of the fifties counterculture burroughs was friends with beat generation icon jack kerouac and junky was championed by allen ginsberg. Junk is not, like alcohol or weed, a means to increased enjoyment of life. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic. The main characters of this fiction, classics story are william s. His first published novel was the largely autobiographical junky, which remains a classic depiction of the constant cycle of drug dependency, cures and relapses he was victim to for most of his life. Reality televisions got nothing on william burroughs. Junk is not, like alcohol or weed, a means to increased enjoyment in life. Junky by william burroughs and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Junkie by william burroughs, first edition abebooks.
It originally appears in the 1989 collection interzone and on the 1993 album spare ass annie and other tales. Burroughs this study guide consists of approximately 38 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of junky. Burroughs reads from the place of dead roads and the cat inside. A shocking expose of the desperate subculture surrounding heroin addiction, william s. Publication date 1977 topics drug addicts, heroin abuse, fiction in english american writers, 1945. One of the creative visionaries of the beat movement recites the calculus by which heroin redefines the addicts world. Oct 02, 2012 junk is not, like alcohol or a weed, a means to increased enjoyment of life. Junky, needless to say, was altogether quite different than i expected. Burroughs and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. It is a way of life william burroughs, legendary drug addict, founder member of the. Burroughs junky book cover on 100% preshrunk cotton tee shirt redwheelbarrowwares 4. William burroughs the original junkie books the guardian.
For this definitive edition, renowned burroughs scholar oliver harris has gone back to archival typescripts to recreated the authors original text word by word. Junky and william burroughs oblique moral vision books. Confessions of an unredeemed drug addict originally titled junk, later released as junky is a novel by american beat generation writer william s. The definitive text of junk penguin modern classics ebook. If youre a fan of william burroughs work, a complete reading of junkie, by william burroughs himself, has recently appeared online, for free. Burroughs wrote junk, his first book, a candid, eyewitness account of times and places that are now long gone. The first edition of the novel was published in april 15th 1953, and was written by william s. Get junky william s burroughs pdf file for free from our online library created date. In his debut novel, junky, burroughs fictionalized his experiences using and. Although i did find it mildly difficult to get through the introduction which goes into deep detail of the publishing of junky and the problems thusly encountered, the text itself was simply incredible.
Burroughs introduction when i lived in mexico city at the end of the 1940s, it was a city of one million people, with clear sparkling air and the sky that special shade of blue that goes so well with. The diabolical nova criminalssammy the butcher, green tony, iron claws, the brown artist, jacky blue note, izzy. Junk is not, like alcohol or a weed, a means to increased enjoyment of life. Forget for a moment that this was burroughs first book, put aside the fact that he was himself a junky, and put. Burroughs broke into the literary scene with junky sometimes also called junkie, a candid, semiautobiographical. First published as junkie under the pen name of william lee in 1953, i read from two editions, each of which differed slightly. Download now for free pdf ebook junky william s burroughs at our online ebook. The book is less than two hundred pages, which, if the book was any longer it would have fallen short.
Available on kindle ebook and can be read on any device with the free kindle. The junkys christmas is a short story by william s. From the tenements of new york to the queer bars of new orleans, junky takes the reader into a world at once longforgotten and still with us today. Burroughss nightmarish futuristic tale one step further. The definitive text of junk 50th anniversary edition. Junky is burroughs s first book and is written in a very straightforward, almost journalistic, style. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. In 1951, in a drunken william tell stunt, he accidentally shot and killed his common. Download now for free pdf ebook junky william s burroughs at our online ebook library. The best of william burroughs from giorno poetry systems. If public schools really wanted kids to abstain from injecting. Forget for a moment that this was burroughs first book, put aside the fact that he was himself a junky, and put your personal opinions of drug use and abuse, as well as burroughs himself, on hold.
His first published novel was the largely autobiographical junky, which remains a classic depiction of the constant cycle of drug dependency. Burroughs this study guide consists of approximately 38 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to. Penguin audiobooks 0141801824,penguin audiobooks isbn 0141801824 format. After many rejections, burroughs kind of gave up on the idea of seeing this book in print. Junky is a novel yet also serves as an autobiographical account of william s. If you enjoyed junky, you might like burroughs exterminator. Junkie alternately titled junky is a 1953 semiautobiographical novel by william s. In 1953, at the height of american conformism and anticommunist hysteria, william s. His first published novel was the largely autobiographical junky, which remains a classic depiction of the constant cycle of drug dependency, cures and relapses he. Burroughs last words collection, in processing 10 bound volumes and 2 boxes, are held at the kenneth spencer research library, university of kansas. Junky by william s burroughs penguin books australia.
The definitive text of junk kindle edition by burroughs. Burroughs virtual junky diary is a trip through the authors own selfinflicted and selfinjected personal hell. The definitive text of junk kindle edition by burroughs, william s download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. His first published work, it is semiautobiographical and focuses on burroughs life as a drug user and dealer. The definitive text of junk penguin modern classics. The story follows a man at odds with american mainstream culture into a quest for spiritual meaning via heroin. Burroughs wrote junk, his first book, a candid, eyewitness account of times and places that are now. Burroughs, published initially under the pseudonym william lee in 1953.
He states he was born 1914 to an established, wealthy. February 5, 1914 august 2, 1997 was an american novelist, short story writer, essayist, painter, and spoken word performer. In his debut novel, junky, burroughs fictionalized his experiences using and peddling heroin and. Burroughs reads his first novel, junky open culture. This study guide consists of approximately 38 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of junky. Burroughs wrote this book much based on his own experience with addiction decades ago, and i think itll forever be potent. Before his 1959 breakthrough, naked lunch, an unknown william s. Read junky the definitive text of junk by william s. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 208 pages and is available in paperback format. Its safe to say that the book wouldnt have seen the light of day if allen ginsberg hadnt taken burroughs under his wing and edited the manuscript. Burroughs junky is edited with an introduction by oliver harris in penguin modern classics. Burroughs by via the house published march 9, 2009 updated august 1, 2015 junky, first published in 1952, is one of the first examples of contemporary drug literature. While young men wage war against an evil empire of zealous mutants, the population of this modern inferno is afflicted w. Burroughs successfully tells his story using simple language making junky an easy but engaging read.
While young men wage war against an evil empire of zealous mutants, the population of this modern inferno is. In work and in life burroughs expressed a lifelong subversion of the morality, politics and economics of modern america. Burroughs published junky, an irresistible strungout ode to the joys and perversities of drug addiction. Burroughs first novel, a largely autobiographical account of the constant cycle of drug dependency, cures and relapses, remains the most unflinching, unsentimental account of addiction ever written. Burroughs did, in fact, start using heroin in 1944 and within a year, he was an addict. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction. Burroughs broke into the literary scene with junky sometimes also called junkie, a candid, semiautobiographical account of an unredeemed drug addict. Plants do not feel pain since pain has no function in a stationary organism. Feb 11, 2014 junky and william burroughs oblique moral vision its apparently impassive descriptions of a heroin addicts life still lay out rights and wrongs pretty plainly sam jordison. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws.
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