Cities of the Red Night
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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| :"[[Self-identity]] is ultimately a symptom of [[parasitic]] invasion, the expression within me of forces originating from outside. Language is to the brain as the [[tapeworm]] is to the [[intestine]]s. Even more so: it may just be possible to find a digestive space free from parasitic infection, but we will never find an uncontaminated mental space. Strands of alien DNA unfurl themselves in our brains, just as tapeworms unfurl themselves in our guts. Not just language, but the whole quality of human consciousness, as expressed in male and female is basically a [[virus]] mechanism." --''[[Cities of the Red Night]]'' | :"[[Self-identity]] is ultimately a symptom of [[parasitic]] invasion, the expression within me of forces originating from outside. Language is to the brain as the [[tapeworm]] is to the [[intestine]]s. Even more so: it may just be possible to find a digestive space free from parasitic infection, but we will never find an uncontaminated mental space. Strands of alien DNA unfurl themselves in our brains, just as tapeworms unfurl themselves in our guts. Not just language, but the whole quality of human consciousness, as expressed in male and female is basically a [[virus]] mechanism." --''[[Cities of the Red Night]]'' | ||
| - | '''''Cities of the Red Night''''' is a novel by [[William S. Burroughs]]. It was the first book in the [[Burroughs trilogy|final trilogy]] of the [[Beat generation|beat]] author, and was first published in [[1981]]. [[Drug literature|Drugs]] play a major part in the novel, as do [[male homosexuality]]. The plot of this [[non-linear]] work revolves around a group of revolutionaries who seek the freedom to live under the articles set out by [[Libertatia|Captain James Mission]]. At the same time in near present day, [[detective]] [[Clem Snide]] is searching for a lost boy, abducted for some sort of [[sexual ritual]]. Another subplot weaved in thematically through the narrative is a world plagued by a [[fictional disease]], [[Virus B-23]], that destroys humanity and is [[STD|sexually transmitted]] and sexual in nature, causing for example [[spontaneous orgasm]]s. [[heroin addiction|Addiction to opiates]] provides some resistance to it. The disease is [[viral]], and, at first, it appears to be an allusion to AIDS, although, it must be remembered that the first case of [[AIDS]] was not discovered until after the book was first published. | + | '''''Cities of the Red Night''''' is a novel by [[William S. Burroughs]]. It was the first book in the [[Burroughs trilogy|final trilogy]] of the [[Beat generation|beat]] author, and was first published in [[1981]]. [[Drug lit|Drugs]] play a major part in the novel, as do [[male homosexuality]]. The plot of this [[non-linear]] work revolves around a group of revolutionaries who seek the freedom to live under the articles set out by [[Libertatia|Captain James Mission]]. At the same time in near present day, [[detective]] [[Clem Snide]] is searching for a lost boy, abducted for some sort of [[sexual ritual]]. Another subplot weaved in thematically through the narrative is a world plagued by a [[fictional disease]], [[Virus B-23]], that destroys humanity and is [[STD|sexually transmitted]] and sexual in nature, causing for example [[spontaneous orgasm]]s. [[heroin addiction|Addiction to opiates]] provides some resistance to it. The disease is [[viral]], and, at first, it appears to be an allusion to AIDS, although, it must be remembered that the first case of [[AIDS]] was not discovered until after the book was first published. |
| ===Origin Of The Title=== | ===Origin Of The Title=== | ||
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- "Self-identity is ultimately a symptom of parasitic invasion, the expression within me of forces originating from outside. Language is to the brain as the tapeworm is to the intestines. Even more so: it may just be possible to find a digestive space free from parasitic infection, but we will never find an uncontaminated mental space. Strands of alien DNA unfurl themselves in our brains, just as tapeworms unfurl themselves in our guts. Not just language, but the whole quality of human consciousness, as expressed in male and female is basically a virus mechanism." --Cities of the Red Night
Cities of the Red Night is a novel by William S. Burroughs. It was the first book in the final trilogy of the beat author, and was first published in 1981. Drugs play a major part in the novel, as do male homosexuality. The plot of this non-linear work revolves around a group of revolutionaries who seek the freedom to live under the articles set out by Captain James Mission. At the same time in near present day, detective Clem Snide is searching for a lost boy, abducted for some sort of sexual ritual. Another subplot weaved in thematically through the narrative is a world plagued by a fictional disease, Virus B-23, that destroys humanity and is sexually transmitted and sexual in nature, causing for example spontaneous orgasms. Addiction to opiates provides some resistance to it. The disease is viral, and, at first, it appears to be an allusion to AIDS, although, it must be remembered that the first case of AIDS was not discovered until after the book was first published.
Origin Of The Title
The title comes from the cities within the book 'the cities of the red night were six in number: Tamaghis, Ba'dan, Yass-Waddah, Waghdas, Naufana, and Ghadis.'
Art
The cover art for the 1981 Holt-Rinehart-Winston first edition is Pieter Brueghel the Elder's 1562 painting "The Triumph of Death".
See also
- Alternate history
- Dr Benway
- The cities of the red night were six in number
- Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted
