James Campbell

Kicking up a stink: Dead Fingers Talk, by William S. Burroughs, reviewed

The British critics of the 1960s who were so disgusted by Burroughs not only missed the fun but failed to recognise a true original

William S. Burroughs writing in Paris in 1962. Credit: Alamy 
issue 31 October 2020

William Burroughs was introduced to a British readership in November 1963, and the welcome he received was ‘UGH…’ The headline stood guard over a review in the Times Literary Supplement of Dead Fingers Talk, the first legally obtainable book by Burroughs to be offered to the public in this country.

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