''Interzone'' is a collection of short stories and other early works 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 ...
from 1953 to 1958. The collection was first published by
Viking Penguin
Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquire ...
in 1989, although several of the stories had already been printed elsewhere, including an earlier publication titled ''Early Routines''. The title was inspired by the
International Zone
An international zone is any area not fully subject to the border control policies of the state in which it is located. There are several types of international zones ranging from special economic zones and sterile zones at ports of entry exe ...
in
Tangiers
Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capit ...
, Morocco, where Burroughs lived for a time and by which he was greatly influenced.
A notable inclusion is "Twilight's Last Gleamings", written in 1938 in collaboration with childhood friend Kells Elvins, and widely thought to be Burroughs' first attempt at fiction. The villain of the piece, Doctor Benway, was to play a pivotal role in ''
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 narr ...
''. (This story differs from another Burroughs piece titled "Twilight's Last Gleamings," which was published in the 1970s collection, ''
Exterminator!
''Exterminator!'' is a short story collection written by William S. Burroughs 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 ...
''.)
''Interzone'' features many characters and concepts that would manifest themselves in ''
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 narr ...
'', ''
Nova Express
''Nova Express'' is a 1964 novel by American author William S. Burroughs. It was written using the 'fold-in' method, a version of the cut-up method, developed by Burroughs with Brion Gysin, of enfolding snippets of different texts into the novel ...
'' and others. At one point, Interzone was considered as a title for ''
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 narr ...
''. Moreover, the concluding section entitled "WORD" was part of the original ''
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 narr ...
'' manuscript but was cut during the editing process (according to the introduction by editor
James Grauerholz
James Grauerholz (born December 14, 1953) is a writer and editor. He is the bibliographer and literary executor of the estate of William S. Burroughs.
Life and career
Grauerholz was born in Coffeyville, Kansas and attended the University of Kans ...
).
Several of the short pieces were adapted into other media. Burroughs recorded the stories "
The Junky's Christmas" and "Spare Ass Annie," which were set to music and released on the album ''
Spare Ass Annie and Other Tales
''Spare Ass Annie and Other Tales'' is a spoken word collaboration featuring William S. Burroughs reading excerpts from his books set to music by The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy. The album was produced by Hal Willner. Critical response to the ...
''. "
The Junky's Christmas" was also adapted as an animated film in the 1990s.
Contents
The book is divided into three sections:
Part 1: Stories
# Twilight's Last Gleamings (a different piece from the one in the earlier collection, ''
Exterminator!
''Exterminator!'' is a short story collection written by William S. Burroughs 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 ...
'')
# The Finger
# Driving Lesson
#
The Junky's Christmas
# Lee and the Boys
# In the Cafe Central
# Dream of the Penal Colony
# International Zone
Part 2: Lee's Journals
# Lee's Journals
# An Advertising Short for Television
# Antonio the Portuguese Mooch
# Displaced Fuzz
# Spare Ass Annie
# The Dream Cops
# The Conspiracy
# Iron Wrack Dream
# Ginsberg Notes (a reference to
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...
)
Part 3: WORD
As noted above, this is a novella-length story that was originally part of the ''Naked Lunch'' manuscript when it was entitled ''Interzone''.
References
1989 short story collections
Short story collections by William S. Burroughs
Books published posthumously
Viking Press books
Novels set in Tangier
{{William S. Burroughs