''Exterminator!'' is a
short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
collection written by
William S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...
and first published in 1973. Early editions label the book a
novel. It is not to be confused with ''The Exterminator'', another collection of stories Burroughs published in 1960 in collaboration with
Brion Gysin.
The collection contains a number of Burroughs' most popular short pieces, such as "Twilight's Last Gleamings", "The Discipline of DE", "Wind Die, You Die, We Die", "Ali's Smile", and "The Coming of the Purple Better One". The title story is about an insect
exterminator, a job Burroughs himself once held. Some of the stories, such as "Ali's Smile", had previously been published in other books and magazines such as ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'', ''
Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
'', ''
Evergreen Review'', and ''
Esquire''.
"Ali's Smile" was also later included in ''
Ali's Smile/Naked Scientology''. A different story entitled "Twilight's Last Gleamings" appears in the later collection, ''
Interzone''.
Adaptations and homages
In the 1980s, actor
Ed Asner
Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' a ...
recorded a spoken word adaptation of "Wind Die. You Die. We Die", while Burroughs and
Kurt Cobain recorded a musical version of one of the stories as ''
The "Priest" They Called Him''. Certain aspects of the short story "Exterminator!" were used in the
1991 film version of ''
Naked Lunch
''Naked Lunch'' (sometimes ''The Naked Lunch'') is a 1959 novel by American writer William S. Burroughs. The book is structured as a series of loosely connected vignettes, intended by Burroughs to be read in any order. The reader follows the na ...
'', with the main character William Lee (a Burroughs stand-in) holding the titular job at the film's beginning.
Al Columbia
Al Columbia (born 1970) is an American artist known for his horror and black humor-themed alternative comics. His published works include the comic book series ''The Biologic Show'', the graphic novel/art book '' Pim & Francie: The Golden Bear ...
's 1994
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
series ''
The Biologic Show
''The Biologic Show'' is a comic book series written and drawn by Al Columbia. The first issue, #0, was released in October 1994 by Fantagraphics Books, and a second issue, #1, was released the following January. A third issue (#2) was announced ...
'' takes its title from a phrase used in the story "Short Trip Home". The passage from which the phrase originates is quoted at greater length in an eponymous short story from the comic's first issue.
Story list
''Exterminator!'' contains the following stories:
# "Exterminator!"
# The Lemon Kid
# Short Trip Home
# Davy Jones
# The Evening News
# Astronaut's Return
# My Face
# Wind Die. You Die. We Die.
# End of the Line
# The Drums of Death
# "Johnny 23"
# The Discipline of DE
# The Perfect Servant
# Ali's Smile
# Twilight's Last Gleamings
# The Coming of the Purple Better One
# "What Washington? What Orders?"
# From Here to Eternity
# The Teacher
# They Do Not Always Remember
# Friends
# Seeing Red
# Old Movie
# Electricals
# SPUT
# Reddies
#
The "Priest" They Called Him
# My Legs Señor
# The End
# Cold Lost Marbles
1973 short story collections
Short story collections by William S. Burroughs
Viking Press books
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