Talk:Junkie (novel)

Untitled

I added some facts and opinion to the existing article, which was kind of vague and the picture was too large in my opinion.--Mikerussell 03:26, 2005 July 18 (UTC) I actually am the unidentified 64.... user too.--Mikerussell 03:26, 2005 July 18 (UTC)

Article title

An anonymous editor had posted a question here (and then removed it) suggesting this article be moved to Junky as more editions seemed to use that title. I don't know if that's necessarily the case, but Junkie was the book's first publication title, so that's the title it should be listed under, even though Burroughs wanted it to be called Junk. 23skidoo 11:38, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

Plagerised?

Someone should make note of the fact that large parts of Junkie were plagiarised from Jack Black's memoir, You Can't Win. Burroughs admitted as much when he wrote the introduction to the re-issued edition of Black's book. 71.213.228.8 21:49, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

• Is there a third-party confirmation of this? I can't find anything to back this up, and haven't been able to locate a copy of said book. 23skidoo 00:23, 5 November 2006 (UTC)

Yeah but who did Jack Black plagerise from? Seriously though I think it is incredibly unlikely that Junky was plagiarised from Black- just from a common sense perspective- the material is so different. He openly admits he was inspired by the book as a teenager, so the notion of plagerism would be a overstatement if not misrepresentation. The anonymous editor should explain or identify some source. Off the top of my head, the only Burroughs novel that even remotely fits the topic of You Can't Win- at least topically similiar enough to even approach the term plagery- is 1985's Place of the Dead Roads. He did have some writing blocks in the late 70s and maybe he borrowed by accident or purposefully for that novel? Otherwise, I think it's incorrect. --Mikerussell 07:19, 22 November 2006 (UTC)

Carl Solomon

I changed "owner and publisher of Ace Books" to "worked at Ace Books"; the owner and publisher was A.A. Wyn. See Ace Books for references. I don't know anything about Solomon, and he may have been a senior figure at Ace, but based on the references I've seen it's highly unlikely he was in an ownership position. If there are references to support his role, I would be glad to hear about them as I could then update the Ace Books article with that information. Mike Christie (talk) 15:15, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Junkieace.jpg

Image:Junkieace.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to ensure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 23:06, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Junky.jpg

Image:Junky.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to ensure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 23:08, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

section "The Text"

The whole section needs to be attributed to WP:RS or deleted -- it appears to be entirely WP:OR (but quite good, IMHOP). DavidOaks (talk) 19:34, 4 July 2009 (UTC)

Photo Caption Wrong

The 50th definitive edition book released 'Junky' was NOT Burroughs' intended spelling it was 'Junkie'and as explained early on in the book the historian gives his reasoning for not re-releasing the book under William's intended title, Junkie, and uses the familiar title Junky as it had been published under times before to avoid confusion. Someone please change this. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.183.179.252 (talk) 03:12, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

OK, I agree it's not his original spelling, but as it says earlier in the article, he wanted it to be simply _Junk_. This comes from the introduction from the _50th Anniversary Edition_. Pdarley (talk) 16:42, 18 February 2014 (UTC)

“Clueless” reference

“Junky” is the book that Cher’s love interest is reading in the movie “Clueless”. Surely this is placed as a hint of the character’s homosexuality, unrecognized by Cher. In Jane Austin’s “Emma”, upon which the “Clueless” plot is based, Emma’s love interest, Frank Churchill is secretly engaged to another and is similarly completely, and unrecognizably, unavailable to Emma. 47.132.39.133 (talk) 18:42, 26 May 2022 (UTC)

Substantial Rewrite

I think this page needs to be more-or-less completely rewritten. The article has barely changed since ~2005. Nearly every paragraph is un-sourced, and has been for years. It uses pretty subjective language (e.g. "agonizingly candid confessions"), and it seems to be about Ginsberg and Ace Publishing more than Burroughs himself.

I considered writing a new version of this article from scratch, but based on feedback in the Teahouse, I've reconsidered; I'll make gradual in-place changes instead. Feel free to reach out here or at my talk page with any feedback or concerns. If I remove anything that seems valuable, feel free to add it back in, especially if you can find a source! Ghosts of Europa (talk) 23:55, 8 July 2023 (UTC)

Glad to see it! A couple book-length sources from archive.org:

• https://archive.org/details/williamburroughs0000harr (on Burroughs major works)
• https://archive.org/details/gentlemanjunkiel00grah (biography)

Do you have access to scholarly sources like JSTOR? If not, {{ping}} me and I can email you some stuff. Good luck! Rjjiii (talk) 03:08, 9 July 2023 (UTC)

Thanks! Between Internet Archive, my local library, and some books I already owned, I think I have a good set of sources. I'll add them to this article over the next few days.

I do not have access to JSTOR. I'd love to read anything you find, even if it's not about Junkie specifically; I've also been expanding the page on Naked Lunch. Ghosts of Europa (talk) 04:03, 9 July 2023 (UTC)

GA Review

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

---

This review is transcluded from Talk:Junkie (novel)/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: BennyOnTheLoose (talk · contribs) 13:52, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

Rate	Attribute	Review Comment
1. Well-written:
	1a. the prose is clear, concise, and understandable to an appropriately broad audience; spelling and grammar are correct.	Suitable for a GA
	1b. it complies with the Manual of Style guidelines for lead sections, layout, words to watch, fiction, and list incorporation.	No issues preventing GA status.
2. Verifiable with no original research:
	2a. it contains a list of all references (sources of information), presented in accordance with the layout style guideline.
	2b. reliable sources are cited inline. All content that could reasonably be challenged, except for plot summaries and that which summarizes cited content elsewhere in the article, must be cited no later than the end of the paragraph (or line if the content is not in prose).
	2c. it contains no original research.
	2d. it contains no copyright violations or plagiarism.	Earwig's Copyvio Detector did not detect any matches, which is quite unusual. No issues found during spot checks.
3. Broad in its coverage:
	3a. it addresses the main aspects of the topic.	Covers the aspects that I would expect.
	3b. it stays focused on the topic without going into unnecessary detail (see summary style).	Contains background material that is useful context for the reader, in appropriate detail.
	4. Neutral: it represents viewpoints fairly and without editorial bias, giving due weight to each.	No issues.
	5. Stable: it does not change significantly from day to day because of an ongoing edit war or content dispute.	Stable.
6. Illustrated, if possible, by media such as images, video, or audio:
	6a. media are tagged with their copyright statuses, and valid non-free use rationales are provided for non-free content.	Suitable FUR for the cover image. Ginsberg image is CC.
	6b. media are relevant to the topic, and have suitable captions.	Both images are relevant. Consider adding "(pictured in 1979)" to the Ginsberg caption.
	7. Overall assessment.

Happy to discuss, or be challenged on, any of my review comments. Regards, BennyOnTheLoose (talk) 13:52, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

Really happy to see this nominated. Time for a re-read of the book! BennyOnTheLoose (talk) 22:39, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

Background

• "Lucien Carr" should be "Carr" after the first mention.
  • Done.
• Comment: Although the section isn't all directly relevant to the subject at first sight, it provides suitable context, and some of the events described are referred to later in the article.
• If keeping all the paras, vary the start of them (currrently In 1944/In 1945/In August 1950)
  • Done.
• Burroughs fatally shot Vollmer - I think this is worth expanding upon, slightly.
  • Done. Let me know if you think this deserves even more detail.
• he would later famously state - is the basis for thisfrom Miles' phrase "much-quoted introduction"? If so, I think "famously" is a bit strong.
  • I've removed the word "famously".

Publication

• Introduce who Oliver Harris is in the text.
  • Done.

Synopsis

• Introduce You Can't Win in the text
  • Done (again, happy to add more detail if you think it's valuable).

Omissions Why is this a distinct section rather than covered under Style and themes?

• I've moved this under Style and Themes. Since the novel's plot, themes, and background are so intertwined, it's been hard to decide how to organize things. Open to suggestions!

Style and themes

• Introduce Jennie Skerl.
  • Done

Reception

• Burroughs himself later criticized the novel - I'd suggest adding when the quote is from
  • Done.

Bibliography and sources

• university press should be captalised in "Oxford university press"
  • Done
• Sources seem appropriate for a GA.

Spot checks

• along with Burroughs himself, these writers would become the core figures of the Beat generation - no issues.
• then co-wrote a novel inspired by the event called And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks, which they were unable to get published. - no issues
• The novel was eventually published in 2008 - no issues
• Burroughs' manuscript was originally titled Junk. Ace Books renamed it to Junkie, out of a concern that Junk would imply the book itself was poor quality, and added the subtitle Confessions of an Unredeemed Drug Addict - no issues.
• Burroughs later renamed the protagonist "William Lee", after his mother's maiden name - no issues.
• Ace Books took advantage of Burroughs' provocative subject by creating a "lurid" book cover as the "lurid" is in quote marks, either reword or attribute it to Harris. You could consider using "especially lurid and voyeuristic".
  • I note that this was changed. BennyOnTheLoose (talk) 21:12, 16 March 2024 (UTC)
• The narration frequently changes focus, reflecting Lee's nervousness and paranoia. - no issues.
• The novel also follows the rise of police surveillance and decline of hipster subculture. As the police crack down on drugs, the community becomes increasingly paranoid and isolated. They no longer trust obscure jargon or their fellow addicts to protect them. - no issues.
• Burroughs' preface to Queer suggests that, in Junkie, Lee's sexuality was "held in check by junk" - no issues
• he lambasts as "ventriloquists’ dummies who have moved in and taken over the ventriloquist". - no issues.

Lead

• I think the lead is fine; it covers the breadth of the article in suitable detail.
• Optioanlly, consider adding when Burroughs wrote the book into the lead.
  • It's a bit hard to quickly summarize this, since the final version of Junkie incorporates some of Queer. I suppose I could say "the initial manuscript was written in 1950".
    • I'm satisfied that the article meets the GA criteria, so I'm passing it. Thanks for your work on the article, Ghosts of Europa. Regards, 21:12, 16 March 2024 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.