Talk:Naked Lunch

The Luncheon on the Grass

Earlier versions of this article have included the un-cited assertion that Scholarly research has also suggested Manet's Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe (The Luncheon on the Grass) of 1863 as Burroughs' inspiration for the title. At least six different editors have removed this claim [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Despite being removed and re-added so often, this claim has never been cited. I've read about this novel extensively, and I have yet to find a published source that discusses this theory, let alone supports it. Per WP:PROVEIT: "The burden to demonstrate verifiability lies with the editor who adds or restores material".

If anyone plans to re-add this line, please include a proper source or discuss here. Ghosts of Europa (talk) 15:45, 14 July 2024 (UTC)

The Beat Hotel

I believe Naked Lunch was completed at the Beat Hotel in Paris. At the Beat Hotel, Burroughs, troubled at how he should organize the fluid routines in his manuscript into a linear form, was told by artist Brion Gysin that he should view his writings as how a painter sees a painting: all elements of the work are juxtaposed in a collage of sorts. It's not about chronology, it's about all elements of the work functioning simultaneously. I think Brion Gysin's remarks to Burroughs may have been pivotal for the order of the final product, and is of enough importance to be written about somewhere in the article. I read this in the book The Best Minds of My Generation: A Literary History of the Beats, an edited compilation of lectures given by Allen Ginsberg.

I'm not the best at contributing to Wikipedia articles. I'm not sure how to format things or add citations correctly. So, if someone could take the wheel, that would be neat. I can provide excerpts from the lecture if needed. I am very appreciative of how the article has been rewritten. It is fantastic work. 2601:647:8380:720:8BD:4B0B:9EEF:D362 (talk) 01:18, 24 July 2024 (UTC)

Structure

Ghosts of Europa: The structure I used for Dracula would work for this novel, too. I am making some changes to how I structure Frankenstein. I will likely group themes by interpretive method (e.g., feminist, psychoanalytic) instead of by themes, but retain the "Context and interpretation" section. It feels more encyclopaedic to me than "Major themes" or "Analysis". You can group by theme instead if the criticism doesn't talk about history of criticism (e.g., The Great Gatsby).

• Background
  • Author
  • Influences

* Textual history * Composition

• Publishing(s)
• Style
  • Narrative
  • Genre

* Reception

• • Contemporary reviews
  • Scholarly interest

* Context and interpretation

• • EITHER "Major themes"
  • OR "Psychoanalytic", "feminist", "structuralist", "culturalist"

If you need help with anything in particular, ping me here or on #quality-articles. — ImaginesTigers (talk∙contribs) 18:36, 9 February 2025 (UTC)

While I remember, ''Neuromancer'' was heavily influenced by Naked Lunch – I worked a bit on that article, too. — ImaginesTigers (talk∙contribs) 21:29, 9 February 2025 (UTC)