burroughs, william s. - the cut-up method of brion gysin

8/10/2019 Burroughs, William S. - The Cut-Up Method of Brion Gysin

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William S. Burroughs

The Cut-Up Method of Brion Gysin

At a surrealist rally in the 19!s Tristan T"ara the man from no#here proposed to $reate a

poem on the spot %y pulling #ords out of a hat. A riot ensued #re$&ed the theater. Andr'Breton e(pelled Tristan T"ara from the mo)ement and grounded the $ut-ups on the

*reudian $ou$h.

+n the summer of 19,9 Brion Gysin painter and #riter $ut ne#spaper arti$les into

se$tions and rearranged the se$tions at random. Minutes to Go resulted from this initial

$ut-up e(periment. Minutes to Go $ontains unedited un$hanged $ut ups emerging as uite$oherent and meaningful prose. The $ut-up method %rings to #riters the $ollage #hi$h

has %een used %y painters for fifty years. And used %y the mo)ing and still $amera. +n fa$t

all street shots from mo)ie or still $ameras are %y the unpredi$ta%le fa$tors of passers %yand /u(taposition $ut-ups. And photographers #ill tell you that often their %est shots are

a$$idents . . . #riters #ill tell you the same. The %est #riting seems to %e done almost %ya$$ident %ut #riters until the $ut-up method #as made e(pli$it0 all #riting is in fa$t $ut

ups. + #ill return to this point0had no #ay to produ$e the a$$ident of spontaneity. ou$an not #ill spontaneity. But you $an introdu$e the unpredi$ta%le spontaneous fa$tor #ith

a pair of s$issors.

The method is simple. 2ere is one #ay to do it. Ta&e a page. 3i&e this page. 4o# $ut

do#n the middle and $ross the middle. ou ha)e four se$tions5 1 6 7 . . . one t#o three

four. 4o# rearrange the se$tions pla$ing se$tion four #ith se$tion one and se$tion t#o#ith se$tion three. And you ha)e a ne# page. Sometimes it says mu$h the same thing.

Sometimes something uite different0$utting up politi$al spee$hes is an interesting

e(er$ise0in any $ase you #ill find that it says something and something uite definite.Ta&e any poet or #riter you fan$y. 2ere say or poems you ha)e read o)er many times.The #ords ha)e lost meaning and life through years of repetition. 4o# ta&e the poem and

type out sele$ted passages. *ill a page #ith e($erpts. 4o# $ut the page. ou ha)e a ne#

poem. As many poems as you li&e. As many Sha&espeare 8im%aud poems as you li&e.Tristan T"ara said5 :oetry is for e)eryone.; And Andr' Breton $alled him a $op and

e(pelled him from the mo)ement. Say it again5 :oetry is for e)eryone.; :oetry is a pla$e

and it is free to all $ut up 8im%aud and you are in 8im%aude is a 8im%aud poem $ut up.


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Cut-ups are for e)eryone. Any%ody $an ma&e $ut ups. +t is e(perimental in the sense of

%eing something to do. 8ight here #rite no#. 4ot something to tal& and argue a%out.

Gree& philosophers assumed logi$ally that an o%/e$t t#i$e as hea)y as another o%/e$t#ould fall t#i$e as fast. +t did not o$$ur to them to push the t#o o%/e$ts off the ta%le and

see ho# they fall. Cut the #ords and see ho# they fall.

Sha&espeare 8im%aud li)e in their #ords. Cut the #ord lines and you #ill hear their

)oi$es. Cut-ups often $ome through as $ode messages #ith spe$ial meaning for the $utter.

Ta%le tapping> :erhaps. Certainly an impro)ement on the usual deplora%le performan$eof $onta$ted poets through a medium. 8im%aud announ$es himself to %e follo#ed %y

some e($ru$iatingly %ad poetry. Cutting 8im%aud and you are assured of good poetry at

least if not personal appearan$e.

All #riting is in fa$t $ut-ups. A $ollage of #ords read heard o)erhead. What else> Use of

s$issors renders the pro$ess e(pli$it and su%/e$t to e(tension and )ariation. Clear $lassi$al

prose $an %e $omposed entirely of rearranged $ut-ups. Cutting and rearranging a page of

#ritten #ords introdu$es a ne# dimension into #riting ena%ling the #riter to turn imagesin $inemati$ )ariation. +mages shift sense under the s$issors smell images to sound sight

to sound sound to &inestheti$. This is #here 8im%aud #as going #ith his $olor of )o#els.And his systemati$ derangement of the senses.; The pla$e of mes$aline hallu$ination5

seeing $olors tasting sounds smelling forms.

The $ut-ups $an %e applied to other fields than #riting. ?r 4eumann in his Theory of

Games and @$onomi$ Beha)ior introdu$es the $ut-up method of random a$tion into game

and military strategy5 assume that the #orst has happened and a$t a$$ordingly. +f your

strategy is at some point determined . . . %y random fa$tor your opponent #ill gain noad)antage from &no#ing your strategy sin$e he $an not predi$t the mo)e. The $ut-up

method $ould %e used to ad)antage in pro$essing s$ientifi$ data. 2o# many dis$o)eries

ha)e %een made %y a$$ident> We $an not produ$e a$$idents to order. The $ut-ups $ouldadd ne# dimension to films. Cut gam%ling s$ene in #ith a thousand gam%ling s$enes all

times and pla$es. Cut %a$&. Cut streets of the #orld. Cut and rearrange the #ord and

image in films. There is no reason to a$$ept a se$ond-rate produ$t #hen you $an ha)e the%est. And the %est is there for all. :oetry is for e)eryone; . . .

4o# here are the pre$eding t#o paragraphs $ut into four se$tions and rearranged5

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burroughs, william s. - the cut-up method of brion gysin

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