Talks, Readings and Screenings Commemorate 50th Anniversary of Naked LunchThursday, October 8 - Saturday, October 10Free and open to the publicSchool of Visual Arts (SVA), in conjunction with Columbia University and New York University (NYU), present a series of free events to mark the 50th anniversary of the publication of
William S. Burroughs’ iconic novel
Naked Lunch. Acclaimed for its innovative, non-linear narrative construction and memorable for its status as the subject of the last obscenity trial against a work of literature in the U.S.,
Naked Lunch follows junkie William Lee as he travels to Tangier, Morocco and beyond. This three-day program begins with a panel discussion about Burroughs’ influence on New York artists, continues with a conference and exhibition, and closes with an evening of performances and film screenings.
On Thursday, October 8, 6:30pm, the Fales Library & Special Collections at NYU will host the panel discussion The Children of Burroughs: The Legacy of
Naked Lunch on New York Artists at Elmer Holmes Bobst Library, 3rd floor, 70 Washington Square South.
The panelists are:
- Robert Fitterman, poet and faculty member in the Liberal Studies Program at NYU and the Milton Avery School of Graduate Studies at Bard College
- Lytle Shaw, assistant professor of English at NYU, visual artist, poet and editor of Shark magazine
- Jurgen Ploog, German writer and artist who has written extensively on Burroughs and late 20th-century American culture
- Penny Arcade, performance artist and host and producer of the Lower East Side Biography Project.
The panel discussion will be moderated by
Marvin J. Taylor, director of the Fales Library & Special Collections at NYU and founder of the Downtown Collection at the Fales Library & Special Collections, which documents the post-1975 outsider art scene that developed in SoHo and on the Lower East Side.
On Friday, October 9, the Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Columbia University will host Fifty Years of
Naked Lunch: From the Interzone to the Archive...and back, a conference including paper presentations, a panel discussion and a viewing of the exhibition “
Naked Lunch: The First Fifty Years.” Except where noted, all sessions take place at the Columbia University Faculty House, 64 Morningside Drive.
The conference schedule:
1pm: General welcome and introduction of keynote speaker,
Gerald W. Cloud, curator of literature, Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University
Keynote:
- Oliver Harris, professor of American Literature and American Studies at Keele University, From Dr Mabuse to Doc Benway: The Myths and Manuscripts of Naked Lunch
2pm: Short papers
- Isaac Gewirtz, curator of the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, New York Public Library, William S. Burroughs: The Writer as Avant-Garde Archivist
- Brian E. C. Schottlaender, Audrey Geisel University Librarian, University of California, San Diego, Manifestations, Multiple Versions, and Showstoppers: Collecting the Various Guises of Naked Lunch
- Regina Weinreich, faculty member in the Humanities and Sciences Department at SVA, Honing the Word Hoard: Kerouac, Tangier and Naked Lunch
4:30pm: Panel discussion From the Bunker and Beyond: Firsthand encounters with William S. Burroughs &
Naked Lunch, moderated by
Ann Douglas, Parr Professor of Comparative Literature, Columbia University.
The panelists are:
- Barry Miles, author; visiting fellow, Liverpool School of Art and Design, John Moores University
- Bradford Morrow, novelist; editor, Conjunctions; professor of Literature, Bard College
- Barney Rosset, publisher, Evergreen Review; founding publisher, Grove Press
6pm: Reception and viewing of the exhibition “
Naked Lunch: The First Fifty Years” in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Butler Library, 6th floor, 535 West 114th Street
On Saturday, October 10, 3:30pm - 8:30pm, the Humanities and Sciences and BFA Visual and Critical Studies Departments at School of Visual Arts will host
Naked Lunch at 50, a program of readings, performances and screenings. The program will feature readings by poets
Anne Waldman,
Eric Andersen and
Michael McClure. Music producer
Hal Willner and special guests will perform scenes from
Naked Lunch. The film screenings include the East Coast premiere of
Words of Advice: William S. Burroughs on the Road directed by Lars Movin and Steen Rasmussen;
The Beat Hotel directed by Alan Govenar;
Japanese Sandman directed by Ed Buhr; and
Nova Express directed by Andre Perkowski. The day’s events are organized and hosted by beat scholar and SVA faculty member
Regina Weinreich (author of
Kerouac’s Spontaneous Poetics; editor of
Kerouac’s Book of Haikus, and co-producer/director of
Paul Bowles: The Complete Outsider) and take place at the SVA Theatre, 333 West 23rd Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues).
School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York City is an established leader and innovator in the education of artists. From its inception in 1947, the faculty has been comprised of professionals working in the arts and art-related fields. SVA provides an environment that nurtures creativity, inventiveness and experimentation, enabling students to develop a strong sense of identity and a clear direction of purpose.
Media Contact: For more information, please contact Alia Dalal at 212.592.2985 or e-mail adalal@sva.edu.
