Internal & External

Although many of the concepts in The Third Mind are ideas we have previously discussed in the context of collage, there were several points that caught my attention.

On page 2 of the interview, Burroughs says, "What I want to do is to learn to see more of what's out there, to look outside, to achieve as far as possible a complete awareness of surroundings." I found this statement to be very interesting, because over time, as writing developed and began to rival orality as the primary form of communication in our culture (which I'm actually only aware of because we've been discussing it in my Western Literary Traditions class), it became more and more about the internal world rather than the external one. So the fact that there is now a trend pushing in the opposite direction is intriguing, as well as helpful in understanding exactly what we are (possibly) trying to "do" with collage-writing.

Burroughs further complicates this idea on page 5, however: "That's cut-up--a juxtaposition of what's happening outside and what you're thinking of." Here, it seems that cut-up is more than just a representation of the outer world, but a clash between the inner and outer worlds. Which is even more exciting, really. And makes sense in regards to collage--we are choosing to put together pieces of the outer world based on our own inner thoughts or impulses.

I didn't realize that I had that much to say (write, rather; isn't it amazing how easily we exchange the two words?) on the subject, but now that I've gone and written it, I suppose I'll wrap it up by saying (writing!) that I liked the way Burroughs ended the interview--maybe just because it gives assurance that, cut-up or no, the author is alive and well.