Baboons, Centipedes, and Lemurs: Becoming-Animal from <i>Queer</i> to <i>Ghost of Chance</i>
The paper establishes a connection between the becoming-writer of Burroughs, who found his calling and style during the 1950s and his signature characteristic of becoming-animal. This can first be observed in <i>Queer</i>, where Burroughs develops his so-called routine; a short sketch-li...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Humanities |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/10/1/51 |
| _version_ | 1797541294119059456 |
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| author | Alexander Greiffenstern |
| author_facet | Alexander Greiffenstern |
| author_sort | Alexander Greiffenstern |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The paper establishes a connection between the becoming-writer of Burroughs, who found his calling and style during the 1950s and his signature characteristic of becoming-animal. This can first be observed in <i>Queer</i>, where Burroughs develops his so-called routine; a short sketch-like text that often involves instances of metamorphosis or transformation. The theoretical background for this short form and the term becoming-animal is taken from Deleuze’s and Guattari’s book on Kafka, who also worked best in short texts and frequently wrote about animals. “The Composite City” may be the central text to understanding Burroughs’ work. It is the text where Burroughs found his style and his identity as a writer. Becoming-animal is a logical consequence that further develops Burroughs’ aesthetic ideal. Over the following decades, he experimented with it in different forms, and toward the end of his career, it became part of an environmental turn. In <i>Ghost of Chance</i>, one can find the same aesthetic ideal that starts Burroughs’ writing in 1953, but the political implications have turned toward saving the lemurs of Madagascar. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:13:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d718635d6bcb4db4abb39a6ed2329004 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0787 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:13:54Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities |
| spelling | doaj.art-d718635d6bcb4db4abb39a6ed23290042023-11-21T10:35:00ZengMDPI AGHumanities2076-07872021-03-011015110.3390/h10010051Baboons, Centipedes, and Lemurs: Becoming-Animal from <i>Queer</i> to <i>Ghost of Chance</i>Alexander Greiffenstern0Independent Scholar, Lehener Straße 59, 79106 Freiburg, GermanyThe paper establishes a connection between the becoming-writer of Burroughs, who found his calling and style during the 1950s and his signature characteristic of becoming-animal. This can first be observed in <i>Queer</i>, where Burroughs develops his so-called routine; a short sketch-like text that often involves instances of metamorphosis or transformation. The theoretical background for this short form and the term becoming-animal is taken from Deleuze’s and Guattari’s book on Kafka, who also worked best in short texts and frequently wrote about animals. “The Composite City” may be the central text to understanding Burroughs’ work. It is the text where Burroughs found his style and his identity as a writer. Becoming-animal is a logical consequence that further develops Burroughs’ aesthetic ideal. Over the following decades, he experimented with it in different forms, and toward the end of his career, it became part of an environmental turn. In <i>Ghost of Chance</i>, one can find the same aesthetic ideal that starts Burroughs’ writing in 1953, but the political implications have turned toward saving the lemurs of Madagascar.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/10/1/51William S. Burroughs<i>Queer</i><i>Ghost of Chance</i><i>Yage Letters</i><i>Naked Lunch</i>Madagascar |
| spellingShingle | Alexander Greiffenstern Baboons, Centipedes, and Lemurs: Becoming-Animal from <i>Queer</i> to <i>Ghost of Chance</i> Humanities William S. Burroughs <i>Queer</i> <i>Ghost of Chance</i> <i>Yage Letters</i> <i>Naked Lunch</i> Madagascar |
| title | Baboons, Centipedes, and Lemurs: Becoming-Animal from <i>Queer</i> to <i>Ghost of Chance</i> |
| title_full | Baboons, Centipedes, and Lemurs: Becoming-Animal from <i>Queer</i> to <i>Ghost of Chance</i> |
| title_fullStr | Baboons, Centipedes, and Lemurs: Becoming-Animal from <i>Queer</i> to <i>Ghost of Chance</i> |
| title_full_unstemmed | Baboons, Centipedes, and Lemurs: Becoming-Animal from <i>Queer</i> to <i>Ghost of Chance</i> |
| title_short | Baboons, Centipedes, and Lemurs: Becoming-Animal from <i>Queer</i> to <i>Ghost of Chance</i> |
| title_sort | baboons centipedes and lemurs becoming animal from i queer i to i ghost of chance i |
| topic | William S. Burroughs <i>Queer</i> <i>Ghost of Chance</i> <i>Yage Letters</i> <i>Naked Lunch</i> Madagascar |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/10/1/51 |
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