Edited and with an Introduction by OLIVER HARRIS
Published by the Penguin Group
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First published in the United States of America by Grove Press 1967
Second revised edition published by Grove Press 2014
Published in Penguin Classics 2014
Copyright © William S. Burroughs, 1962, 1964, 1967
Introduction Copyright © Oliver Harris, 2014
The moral right of the author has been asserted
Cover illustration by Julian House at Intro
All rights reserved
ISBN: 978-0-141-97604-4
Introduction
THE TICKET THAT EXPLODED
Notes
Acknowledgments
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It is a privilege to edit works by William Burroughs, and a pleasure to thank James Grauerholz for making it possible and for all the support he has given. It is also a pleasure to thank the following for their expert help: Jed Birmingham for assistance with little magazines; Keith Seward for razor-sharp feedback; and above all, Véronique Lane, for working with me from start to finish, being by my side in the archival vaults, sharing ideas, reading every word I wrote, and for living with the Fish Boys and the Vegetable People for two years.
For the great archival assistance they have provided, I also want to thank John Bennett of the Rare Books and Manuscript Library at Ohio State University, Columbus; Rob Spindler of the Archives and Special Collections at Arizona State University, Tempe; Isaac Gewirtz, curator of the Berg Collection at the New York Public Library, and his staff; and Michael Ryan and all his staff at the Rare Books and Manuscript Library, Columbia University. I would also like to acknowledge the support of the Research Institute for the Humanities at Keele University. Thanks finally to Jeff Posternak of the Wylie Agency, a great guy to have on your side, and to Peter Blackstock at Grove Press.