Burroughs in Tangier: Cut-Up Technique

William Burroughs fled to Tangier, Morocco, after accidentally shooting his wife Joan Vollmer in Mexico City in 1951. In self-imposed exile, he wrote 'Naked Lunch' in a drug-fueled haze, creating a hallucinogenic masterpiece. Working with artist Brion Gysin, Burroughs developed the cut-up technique, literally cutting up pages of text and rearranging them randomly to create new meanings. This method broke linear narrative and challenged conventional notions of authorship.

• Tangier exile followed Joan Vollmer's accidental death

• Naked Lunch written in drug-induced state

• Cut-up technique developed with Brion Gysin

• Method challenged traditional narrative structure