William S. Burroughs At the Front: Critical Reception, 1959 - 1989 [Paperback]

William S. Burroughs (Author), Dr. Jennie Skerl Ph.D. (Editor), Professor Robin Lydenberg B.A. Ph.D. (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 28, 1991

Jennie Skerl and Robin Lydenberg have selected twenty-five critical essays on Burroughs that reflect the historical reception of his work, both positive and negative, decade by decade, and that represent the best essays written about him.

 

The essays cover Burroughs’ major novels—including the cut-up and new trilogies—the censorship issue, and his work in film and painting. The chronological organization brings into critical focus the shift from moral questions raised by the novels’ content, through examinations of Burroughs’ relationship to humanism and modernism, and finally to more focused literary and linguistic issues. In their introduction, the editors survey the progress of Burroughs’ critical reception and examine the reasons for the varied and intense responses to the work and the theoretical assumptions behind those responses.

 

The reviewers include prominent figures such as Mary McCarthy and Marshall McLuhan as well as major academic critics such as Cary Nelson, Tony Tanner, and Ihab Hassan.

 

 

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Whether you are a neophyte coming to Burroughs for the first time, or a specialist seeking a convenient compilation of the best in Burroughs criticism, or even a literary historian interested in the reception of avant-garde writing, At the Front is an invaluable collection.”—Steven Moore, Review of Contemporary Fiction

About the Author

Jennie Skerl is Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences at West Chester University of Pennsylvania.

 

Robin Lydenberg is Professor of English at Boston College.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press; 1st edition (February 28, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809315866
• ISBN-13: 978-0809315864
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,346,371 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Reasons Why This is a "Critical" Secondary Source, September 13, 2002

By 

Mr. Egregious - See all my reviews

This review is from: William S. Burroughs At the Front: Critical Reception, 1959 - 1989 (Paperback)

1) Authoritative: Both editors are renowned Burroughs scholars
2) Well-Represented: Most of the prominent Burroughs critics and scholars are represented (Alan Ansen, Ihab Hassan, Tony Tanner, Cary Nelson, Eric Mottram, Jennie Skerl, Robin Lydenberg, etc. Note: Due to chronology, Tim Murphy had yet to publish his dissertation on Burroughs)
3) Well-Organized: The text is organized by decades so one may gain an overview of Burroughs's reception throughout the past fifty years
4) Just: Both negative and positive criticism are included
5) Complete: The text begins with Burroughs's earliest works and finishes with his artwork

5.0 out of 5 stars Start Here: An Excellent Resource for Burroughs Scholars, April 13, 2009

By 

WaxNostalgic (Nom De Plume) - See all my reviews

This review is from: William S. Burroughs At the Front: Critical Reception, 1959 - 1989 (Paperback)

In one of the last essays in this text, James Grauerholz says of Burroughs' foray into painting: "The challenge of contextualizing his work is a red herring, because the true context is the body of his own wide-ranging work and life."

By the end of this collection of essays, one sees that literary critics over the decades came around to thinking the very same way about Burroughs' writing.

When he first came on the scene with 'Naked Lunch,' there was simply no drawer to file Burroughs in. But that didn't stop the critics from trying, and reading the contemporary accounts of such attempts demonstrate just how very revolutionary the novel was -- more dramatically than any post-facto analysis can.

Essays from Burroughs scholars are balanced with the Sunday-Paper-Critics, and moving through the book, one finds a genuinely thorough, multi-faceted picture of Burroughs' WORK and its evolution -- more or less unclouded by the Burroughs MYTH.

This book is perhaps the very best 'port of entry' for serious Burroughs scholarship, and even a good 'end point' for anyone who doesn't plan to dig any deeper.