Naked Lunch

Naked Lunch (alternately titled The Naked Lunch in some editions) is a novel by William S. Burroughs.

The book

Naked Lunch is considered Burroughs' seminal work, and one of the landmark publications in the history of American literature. Extremely controversial in both its subject matter and its use of (often obscene) language, the book was banned in many regions of the United States, and was one of the last American books to actually be put on trial for obscenity. The book was first published in France in 1959 by the infamous Olympia Press; an English-language edition by Grove Press followed soon after.

Related Topics:
American literature - Obscene - France - Olympia Press - Grove Press

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Naked Lunch consists of many loosely-related vignettes in which several characters such as the masochistic and incompetant Dr. Benway reappear. The primary character (one might say the main character), is agent Bill Lee (a pseudonym for Burroughs — Lee was his mother's maiden name; Burroughs also appears in Kerouac's On the Road as "Old Bull Lee" and used the pseudonym William Lee for his first novel, Junkie).

Related Topics:
Dr. Benway - On the Road - Pseudonym - Junkie

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The book's structure anticipates the cut-up technique Burroughs would later employ in later novels such as the so-called "Nova Trilogy" (The Soft Machine, Nova Express, and The Ticket That Exploded). The stories draw from his experiences in Tangier and his life in America and Mexico, as well as a tour through South America he undertook after accidentally shooting his common-law wife Joan Vollmer. Throughout this period he became addicted to several drugs (notably heroin and morphine). The novel's mix of taboo fantasies, peculiar creatures (like the predatory Mugwumps), and eccentric personalities all serve to unmask mechanisms and processes of control; to "reveal what is at the end of every fork." The title was suggested by Burroughs's friend Jack Kerouac. The novel is a particularly grand illustration of Burroughs's skill with dialogue. Poet Allen Ginsberg, Burroughs' close friend and sometime lover, refers to Naked Lunch in his introduction to his epic poem "Howl".

Related Topics:
Cut-up technique - The Soft Machine - Nova Express - The Ticket That Exploded - Tangier - America - Mexico - South America - Joan Vollmer - Heroin - Morphine - Jack Kerouac - Allen Ginsberg - Howl

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The book was banned in some parts of the world for approximately ten years, though it found a quick release in France where Olympia Press published it soon after completion. The first American publisher to take a chance with the novel was Grove Press. The book was banned by Boston courts in 1962 due to obscenity, but that decision was reversed in a landmark 1966 opinion by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. This was the last major literary censorship battle in the US.

Related Topics:
Boston - 1962 - 1966 - Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court - Censorship

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Upon publication, Grove Press added to the book supplementary material regarding the censorship battle as well as an article written by Burroughs on the topic of drug addiction.

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In 2002, several years after Burroughs' death, a "restored text" edition of Naked Lunch was published, with some new and previously suppressed material added.

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Trivia

• Burroughs wrote Naked Lunch in room #9 of the Hotel el Muniria in Tangier. Today, photos of Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and other beat generation poets hang on the walls of the adjoining bar, the Tangerinn.
• Some early European editions of the book are entitled The Naked Lunch as was the British 1969 paperback edition by Corgi Books but the article was dropped for American editions.
• In 1989, Burroughs published Interzone, a collection of short stories and other writings including a chapter entitled "WORD" that at one time was considered for inclusion in Naked Lunch. According to some sources, Burroughs original title for the novel Naked Lunch was also Interzone.
• The music group Steely Dan takes its name from a dildo mentioned in Naked Lunch. The music group Clem Snide also takes its name from a character in Naked Lunch.
• In 1994, the band Bomb The Bass released their album Clear which contains a track called "Bug Powder Dust". The lyrics of that song contain a lot of references to characters, places and actions that are part of the book.
• Several characters in this book would reappear in many later works, most notably the surgeon Dr. Benway, Clem Snide "the Private Asshole", and Inspector Lee. An episode of the TV series Crime Scene Investigation includes a character named Dr. Benway in one episode.