"Lightly but helpfully annotated and peppered with Ginsberg’s own snapshots of Burroughs in repose, this must-have resource for beat aficionados will stimulate more casual readers as well with its sense of being in the same room, and thoroughly in tune, with two legendary literary iconoclasts." —Publishers Weekly
“Invaluable to scholars and avid readers who yearn to understand the original Beats.” —Rain Taxi
“Devotees of these Beat Generation icons will find these conversations between longtime friends both entertaining and revealing.” —Library Journal
“For aficionados of these two literary lights and the Beat movement in general, this is an illuminating artifact and essential addition to the collection.” —Washington Independent Review of Books
"[An] intimate, sprawling exchange." The Paris Review
“Anyone with an interest in these two seminal figures of the Beat movement will like to follow along with the free-flowing discussion.” —Seattle Book Review
“A deeply personal and beautiful book. . . . Ginsberg famously edited his interviews and treated them as an art just like his poems, and to read his words unabridged … is refreshing, and fun.refreshing and fun.” —Beatdom
“A surprising page-turner, full of hilarity and intimate asides–transcribed into an extremely readable and satisfying fly-on-the-wall of literary history . . . will make both fanboy and scholar sit up straight at attention. Oh, and the R. Crumb cover portrait of Allen & Bill is magnificent!” —Sensitive Skin Magazine
“A conversation loaded with details, ideas, analyses, and a profound understanding of a moment in American literary history and the people who lived it.” —New York Journal of Books
“Quite simply, this book offers unfiltered and never-before-seen insight and understanding into this famous time in American literature. … Writers today can relate to the processes of the Beats’ writings because they are both pushing against the status quo.” —BookTrib
“Steven Taylor’s transcriptions of Bill and Allen’s table talk are so accurate that it is just like being there with them: Bill restless, changing the subject – Allen doggedly pursuing his point. I learned much from it. If only we had them with us now.” —Barry Miles, author, Hippie and Call Me Burroughs
"A beautiful book where you are pleasantly sitting with two originators of Beat-ism, amazing to hear them talk with each other touching many different things. I love them so much I will buy more copies of this book." —Gus Van Sant, director, artist, author
“A conversation between two literary geniuses of the 20th century whose impact on worldwide culture is so profound that it touches the fabric of our existence on levels we may not fully comprehend. . . . An endearing and necessary Beat addendum for anyone who feels the shivers of a radical disposition. Steven Taylor, close to both these icons, does a hero-scholar’s job of edit and notation. A tangible, tender, and totally engaging tour de force, and balm for the dystopic time we’re caught in." —Anne Waldman, feminist, activist, poet, Fast-Speaking Woman, Trickster Feminism
“William Burroughs was a seer, a visionary who was always “now” whether in Underground Comix or Punk Rock. … From Post-War America, he saw the Ugly Spirit multiplying in its own image, an endless soul killing sickness breaking the dawn’s ozone and settling upon the deep state in IIlumanati conspiracies snuffing citizens who fall for the Lie. . . . It’s all here, in this futuristic compendium. Get your copy now before the country sinks into senescence or worse. Take the book home to unwind the mummy roll by roll.” —Charles Plymell, author, Last Of The Moccasins/ Apocalypse Rose
“Don't Hide the Madness, the audio-taped conversations between William Burroughs & Allen Ginsberg, makes for a marvelous and very important contribution to American Letters.” —Gerard Malanga, poet, photographer, archivist
“William and Allen intersected every critical counter-culture signpost of the late 20th century as confidantes, critics, lovers and true representatives of our radical minds. Let us bask in their beatific banter and glean their energy of intellect, eros and rapacious vision. Straight world be damned!” —Thurston Moore, musician, poet
“Allen and Bill, still talking, all the many years later, still examining life‘s expanse - much of which they traveled in well documented tandem - now from the far shore. We have their nimble old-age (and age-old) words to guide us still. How lucky we are!” —Lee Ranaldo, writer, musician
“For any fan, student, or scholar of Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs and the Beat Generation, Don't Hide the Madness is an absolutely essential read. . . . A treasure trove of insight, humor, beauty and wisdom.” —S. A. Griffin, Carma Bums “Far and away the best book I’ve read in a long time. For those who are just discovering the Beat Generation, Burroughs’ and Ginsberg’s enthralling dinner-table talks will help put a human face on these literary giants. Its like pulling up your own chair and eavesdropping on genius at work. Editor Steven Taylor has done noble work here.” —Bill Morgan, author, The Best Minds of My Generation
“Two of the best minds of my generation, are certainly the angel-headed hipsters, Burroughs and Ginsberg; I read them at 18, again at 40 and have fumbled through their brilliance ever since. This book, their dialogue is a 20th century headstone! Like a crab's eye at end of a stick, a penetrating riff on the starry dynamo of America." —Dr. Peter Weller, PhD/Dept. of Art History / UCLA, MANCAT PROD. INC.
“For those of us who missed our chance in meeting Burroughs, books like DON’T HIDE THE MADNESS prove invaluable. They capture a moment in time, in this case a pivotal moment for the late Burroughs, a time of public acceptance and coming to terms with the past. . . . Essential reading for those interested in experiencing Burroughs the man.” —Jed Birmingham, RealityStudio
09/15/2018
Prompted by a request from London's Observer Magazine to interview writer William S. Burroughs (1914–97) in connection with the release of David Cronenberg's film Naked Lunch, poet Allen Ginsberg (1926–97) visited with him in Lawrence, KS, recording 16 hours of conversation between March 17–22, 1992. Taylor (False Prophet), Ginsberg's longtime musical accompanist, agreed to transcribe the tapes as the basis for the magazine article. The complete transcripts with notes are published for the first time in this volume, which takes its title from Ginsberg's poem "On Burroughs' Work." Topics discussed include literary history and influences, demonic possession and exorcism, drug and gun laws, psychiatry, and, of course, Cronenberg's film. Burroughs returns several times to the "Ugly Spirit," an entity he believed possessed him and prompted his accidental shooting of wife Joan. There's also much on personal subjects such as illness, diet, and Burroughs's many cats. Includes a generous selection of Ginsberg's photos taken during the visit. VERDICT Devotees of these Beat Generation icons will find these conversations between longtime friends both entertaining and revealing.—William Gargan, emeritus, Brooklyn Coll. Lib., CUNY
