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Abstract

In his article "Arabic Music and Burroughs's The Ticket That Exploded" David Holzer discusses how the experience of hearing Arabic music in Tangier and being exposed to the healing music of the Master Musicians of Joujouka, a remote village in the foothills of the Ahl Srif mountain range in Northern Morocco, significantly influenced both the writing of William Burroughs and his multi-media experiments. This essay considers what Arabic music and specifically that of Joujouka meant to Burroughs, with particular reference to The Ticket That Exploded (1962). Drawing on The Ticket, Burroughs’s letters, critical studies and biographical material, it demonstrates that his understanding of what the music was and did was fundamental to his creative mission.

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