American Schizo: William Burroughs and Semiotext(e)

This article analyzes the role of William Burroughs within the theoretical, aesthetic, and political project of New York-based journal Semiotext(e). Burroughs was a key participant in Semiotext(e)’s 1975 “Schizo-Culture” conference, and his contributions appeared in several of the journal’s special issues from 1978 to 1987. The article demonstrates how Semiotext(e) fashioned an image of Burroughs as theorist by choosing to foreground his politics, sexuality, and radical philosophy. As Semiotext(e) deliberately shifted focus and format over the course of a decade, Burroughs served as a crucial link between the American counterculture and post-1968 French thought.