Theories of Opiate Addiction in the Early Works of Burroughs and Trocchi

In his article "Theories of Opiate Addiction in the Early Works of Burroughs and Trocchi" Richard English discusses William S. Burroughs's and Alexander Trocchi's representations of opiate addiction with special reference to their early writings. English examines the concept of homo heroin that can be attributed to Burroughs and lists and expounds the qualities he adduces. Among these are: immorality, criminality, mono-objectuality, selfand other-indifference, and, most importantly, the radical physical transformation into a new species, which Burroughs extends in Naked Lunch. English shows how homo heroin relates to Trocchi's conception of a heroin addict, which serves to illustrate that homo heroin is not simply a neologism for "junkie." English also argues that Burroughs's radical depiction stretches beyond that of Trocchi and other writers of opiate fiction in virtue of Burroughs's metaphysical claim about species change. Richard English, "Theories of Opiate Addiction in the Early Works of Burroughs and Trocchi" page 2 of 6 CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 18.5 (2015): Special Issue Beat Studies Go Global. Ed. Oliver Harris and Polina Mackay