William S. Burroughs At the Front: Critical Reception, 1959 - 1989 (Hardcover)

~ Dr. Jennie Skerl Ph.D. (Editor), Professor Robin Lydenberg B.A. Ph.D. (Editor)

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

Product Description

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.

 

 

See all Editorial Reviews

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Product Details Hardcover: 288 pages Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press; 1st edition (February 28, 1991) Language: English ISBN-10: 0809315858 ISBN-13: 978-0809315857 Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1 inches Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Look Inside This Book

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover

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Citations (learn more)

10 books cite this book:

• Beat Down to Your Soul: What Was the Beat Generation? by Ann Charters on page 150, and page 648
• Word Virus: The William S. Burroughs Reader (Burroughs, William S.) by William S. Burroughs in Front Matter, and Back Matter
• The Beat Hotel: Ginsberg, Burroughs, and Corso in Paris, 1958-1963 by Barry Miles in Back Matter
• The Beat Hotel: Ginsberg, Burroughs & Corso in Paris, 1957-1963 by Barry Miles in Back Matter
• Make Love, Not War : The Sexual Revolution: An Unfettered History by David Allyn in Back Matter

See all 10 books citing this book

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2 Reviews 5 star:  (2) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 5.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
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.		Ad feedback   Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press; 1st edition (February 28, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809315858
• ISBN-13: 978-0809315857
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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.