The Third Mind

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The Third Mind
ThirdMind.jpg
1978 paperback edition by Seaver Books
Author William S. Burroughs
Brion Gysin
LanguageEnglish
Genre Beat, essay, short fiction
Publisher Viking Press
Publication date
1977 (French edition); 1978 (English edition)
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
ISBN 0-394-17984-6 (1982 edition)
OCLC 8879225

The Third Mind is a book by Beat Generation novelist William S. Burroughs and artist/poet/novelist Brion Gysin. [1] First published in a French-language edition in 1977, it was published in English in 1978. It contains numerous short fiction pieces as well as poetry by Gysin, and an interview with Burroughs. Some chapters had previously been published, in slightly different form, in various literary journals between 1960 and 1973.

The book is a combination of literary essays and writing showcasing the cut-up technique popularized by Burroughs and Gysin in the 1960s. Cut-ups involves taking texts, cutting the pages, and then rearranging and combining the pieces to form new narratives. The technique was adapted for filmmaking, as demonstrated by Burroughs and director Antony Balch in their early 1960s short film, The Cut-Ups.

Contents

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