A Burroughs Milestone

Jed Birmingham discusses the importance of little magazines to William Burroughs and their role in the publication and reception of Naked Lunch. I recorded the video in Paris on July 3, 2009, at the Naked Lunch@50 conference sponsored by the University of London Institute. The conference marked the original publication of Burroughs's book by the Olympia Press in 1959. It also celebrated the publication of Naked Lunch@50: Anniversary Essays, edited by Oliver Harris and Ian MacFadyen.

Click the photo below to see Jean-Jacques Lebel unveil a plaque at 9 rue Git-le-Coeur, in Paris, commemorating what became known as the Beat Hotel, where William Burroughs lived during the late 1950s and where he assembled 'Naked Lunch' for publication.