“Kowalska sees these ‘counter-sites’ as versions, however imperfect, of a utopian ideal in which heterogeneity is valued. “They are by nature non-hegemonic, and in the modern context are often the spaces of subculture or deviance; in literature, they are often the setting if not the subject of transgressive fiction. In the work of the Beat Generation writers, scenes such as nocturnal Times Square, the transient lives of migrant worker communities, port and border cities, or downtown rooming houses, can be understood as heterotopias in terms of their liminality, their difference from conformist society, and the sometimes idealised potential for freedom, expression, and experience they are portrayed as holding.”

https://library.hrmtc.com/2025/04/01/kowalska-sees-these-counter-sites-as-versions-however-imperfect-of-a-utopian-ideal-in-which-heterogeneity-is-valued-they-are-by-nature-non-hegemonic-and-in-the-modern-context-are-of/

#BeatGeneration #BeatLiterature #book #border #BritishIrishLiteraryCriticism #BritishIrishLiteratureFiction #byNature #canBeUnderstoodAs #ChrisKelso #cities #communities #conformistSociety #counterSites #deviance #differenceFrom #downtown #experience #Expression #Freedom #HalDuncan #heterogeneity #heterotopias #holding #howeverImperfect #idealisedPotential #inLiterature #inTermsOf #KowalskaS #liminality #migrantWorker #modernContext #nocturnal #nonHegemonic #often #port #portrayed #quote #roomingHouses #scenes #scotland #spaces #subculture #theSetting #theSubject #theWork #TimesSquare #transgressiveFiction #transientLives #utopianIdeal #valued #versions #WilliamSBurroughs19141997 #writers

"Kowalska sees these 'counter-sites' as versions, however imperfect, of a utopian ideal in which heterogeneity is valued. “They are by nature non-hegemonic, and in the modern context are often the spaces of subculture or deviance; in literature, they are often the setting if not the subject of transgressive fiction. In the work of the Beat Generation writers, scenes such as nocturnal Times Square, the transient lives of migrant worker communities, port and border cities, or downtown rooming houses, can be understood as heterotopias in terms of their liminality, their difference from conformist society, and the sometimes idealised potential for freedom, expression, and experience they are portrayed as holding." - The Hermetic Library Blog

Kowalska sees these ‘counter-sites’ as versions, however imperfect, of a utopian ideal in which heterogeneity is valued. “They are by nature non-hegemonic, and in the modern context are often the spaces of subculture or deviance; in literature, they are often the setting if not the subject of transgressive fiction. In the work of the Beat […]

The Hermetic Library Blog

“His writing was vile, evil, obsessive. In short: fucked up. There was nothing redemptive about it.”

https://library.hrmtc.com/2024/03/12/his-writing-was-vile-evil-obsessive-in-short-fucked-up-there-was-nothing-redemptive-about-it/

"His writing was vile, evil, obsessive. In short: fucked up. There was nothing redemptive about it." - The Hermetic Library Blog

His writing was vile, evil, obsessive. In short: fucked up. There was nothing redemptive about it. Chris Kelso, Burroughs & Scotland: Dethroning the Ancients: The Commitment of Exile [Amazon, Local Library] Consider also: “With fascism fucking everywhere at the moment, there’s no guarantee that all the demolition of what qualifies as obscene won’t be rolled […]

The Hermetic Library Blog