Various (Bax, Martin (Editor); Ballard, J.G.; Burns, Jim; Burroughs, William S.; McGrath, Thomas; Thomas, Dylan et al.)

AMBIT No. 27 (1966)

London, England, UK: Ambit, 1966. First Printing. Stapled Wrappers. "Much of Burroughs' difficulty as a writer resides in the fact that he is a writer, systematically creating the verbal myths of the mid-century at a time when the oral novel, or unillustrated strip cartoon, holds almost exclusive sway." (J.G. Ballard, pgs. 46-47). The twenty-seventh number of the quarterly British literary journal founded in 1959 & edited until 2013 by British pediatrician Dr. Martin Bax (1933-2024), features "Terminal Documents" (pgs.46-48), a reworking of J.(ames) G.(raham) Ballard’s (1930-2009) earlier essay on Beat Generation Founding Father William S. Burroughs (1914-1997; Myth Maker of the Twentieth Century, New Worlds May/June 1964, [Schotttlander, C127, pg. 32]). This revised text, which labels Burroughs the “first mythographer of the mid-20th century” and the “lineal successor to James Joyce,” posititioned Burroughs as the eminent writer of inner space. Ballard, an English novelist, satirist & author of Empire of the Sun, reviews Burroughs' books The Naked Lunch, Nova Express, The Soft Machine & The Ticket That Exploded and takes an in-depth yet succinct look at each, often in an attempt to explain why British critcs of Burroughs were unable to understand the author and more specifically, his cut-up writing style. Ballard’s language in “Terminal Documents” is sometimes scathing, a deviation from his previous glowing praise of his literary hero, with his judgments not phrased in the lucid, almost epigrammatic style for which he had become known. Instead, they are offered in looping run-on sentences, the divagations of a person struggling to criticize without criticizing. Of the many authors who have acknowledged Burroughs' influence, few have been as unflinching or provocative as Ballard, from the chromey auto-eroticism of his book Crash to the surrendered innocence of “Empire of the Sun.” Also in this issue are contributions of poetry, prose & essays by such Beat-&-Beyond, WSB-affiliated figures as Jim Burns (b. 1936), English poet, editor & author of the Beat Generation collections of essays entitled Beats, Bohemians & Intellectuals, Radicals, Beats & Beboppers and Artists, Beats & Cool Cats; Thomas McGrath (1916-1990), American poet & screenwriter; Dylan Thomas (1914-1953), Welsh poet and author of the famous Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night; Ballard's Burroughsian poem You: Coma: Marilyn Monroe (pgs. 3-6) & more. With many illustrated images & contemporary advertisements throughout. See Item No.s 1513 & 4582 for more issues of Ambit. From the collection of Richard Cupidi (b. 1945), our esteemed mate in the UK who managed the fabled Unicorn Bookshop in Brighton, England for founder Bill Butler (1934-1977, the famed American-expatriate bookseller & publisher). From the late 1960s through the early 1970s, Unicorn proffered & published many outstanding productions by WSB, Ballard et al., some of which have become the scarcest, all-but-unobtainable Beat-&-Beyond collectibles (see for example our Item No.s 8217 & 8366). After prevailing against censorious harassment efforts, Unicorn closed & Butler died in short order. Cupidi went on to found the Public House Bookshop in Brighton, which had a long & successful run but is also now closed, & he still resides there. We have been honored to obtain what Cupidi has termed "The Last Hurrah," all the remaining treasures of Unicorn & Public House, some of which have become the stuff of myth. Literary Journal in Stapled Wrappers: First & only printing per publication custom. An extremely rare & very rich issue in this most collectible series with a very pivotal WSB contribution by Ballard, in its rarest contemporary form, with utmost relevant association & very distinguished provenance. In relatively fine-to-very fine condition with mild rubbing, age-toning, creasing of corners & sparse spotting mostly to fine edges of front, back cover & stapled spine; mild age-toning & minor spot-staining to text block. Interior fine-to-very fine with light wear, spot-staining & some bumping of corners to inner covers & some page leaves; mild age-toning mostly to blank margins/fine edges of same; moderate rusting of staples, causing spot-staining near spine of pages 24 & 25. Fine-Very Fine. [Item #8453]

Price: $250.00