“So often is the virgin sheet of paper more real than what one has to say, and so often one regrets having marred it.”-Harold Acton (Memoirs of an Aesthete, 1948)
A Small Press Life: Books. Art. Writing. Life. Tea.
Not just a blog, a philosophy
“So often is the virgin sheet of paper more real than what one has to say, and so often one regrets having marred it.”-Harold Acton (Memoirs of an Aesthete, 1948)
A Small Press Life: Books. Art. Writing. Life. Tea. 
Burroughs say, “To speak is to lie.” he does follow it with something about thinking, but I can’t recall the rest.
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I love that. I’ll have to look up the rest of it; I’m curious.
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It’s out of NOVA EXPRESS. If I can find the book and the passage in it, I’ll let you know.
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Thanks! I’ve read-and own-many Burroughs volumes but I do not have a copy of Nova Express (or The Ticket That Exploded, for that matter).
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I haven’t read him for years, but was browsing through NOVA EXPRESS, and read the line. I used to read quite a lot of him.
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My reading of/appreciation for Burroughs is cyclical. Maybe it is time for another upswing.
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Here’s the line: “I would like to sound a word of warning–To speak is to lie–To live is to collaborate–Anybody is a coward when faced by the nova ovens–There are degrees of lying collaboration and cowardice–That is to say degrees of intoxication–It is precisely a question of regulation–“
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Thanks for digging up the passage for me. It’s good stuff.
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Most of my reading is cyclical too, and you’re welcome…I also wanted to know.
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Well, you made it much easier for me!
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SO TRUE.
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Agreed! 🙂
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