Cain s book alexander trocchi young

Bereft of the usual ripples, furrows and climaxes that pepper the kind of generic fiction so pervasive today, trocchis novel is content to explore the impasse of bleak repetition that every serious person can but accept. He attended the university of glasgow from 19421943 and from 19461950, and served in the royal navy from 19431946. During the 1950s and 1960s he lived mainly in paris and new york and gained fame as one of the most talented writers, in both prose and poetry, of the period. Cains book is a 1960 novel by scottish beat writer alexander trocchi. The jury is still out on whether young adam or cains book is trocchis greatest work, but regardless the former remains the best introduction to his writing because it is so much more typical of his protopostmodernist approach. In paris, he founded merlin the outstanding literary magazine, wrote novels for olympia press, experimented with heroin and became hooked. Alexander trocchi 19251984 was a scottish author, publisher and activist. Alexander trocchi 192584 was a controversial scottish novelist of the beat generation. The junky genius of alexander trocchi books the guardian. Spatial subversion in alexander trocchis young adam. Feb 01, 2011 documentary on alexander trocchi 1925 84, scottish born writer, poet, translator and author of young adam and cain s book. The jury is still out on whether young adam or cain s book is trocchi s greatest work, but regardless the former remains the best introduction to his writing because it is so much more typical of his protopostmodernist approach. A roman a clef, it details the life of joe necchi, a heroin addict and writer, who is living and working on a scow on the hudson river in new york.

Alexander trocchi 192584 left glasgow university with the honours of a brilliant philosophy scholar. Mar 28, 2020 so begins cains book, alexander trocchis incredible novel of existential dread. He had a short spell in the navy before studying philosophy at the university of glasgow. Spatial subversion in alexander trocchis young adam and cains book. Aug 04, 2014 foreword to cains book by alexander trocchi 1993 alexander trocchi was a legendary figure in his lifetime. So begins cains book, alexander trocchis incredible novel of existential dread. Author alexander trocchis muse was drugsbut in this novel, he does not romanticize the source of his inspiration. Am article cum alma reprint of cains book intro tom mccarthy pinpoints trocchis writing as between two points, a white tundra and a black ocean. Aug 24, 2017 alexander trocchi left glasgow university with the honours of a brilliant philosophy scholar. Not that these are the only junkie novels far from it but they are both wellknown in their own areas, the burroughs one obviously better known generally. Cains book kindle edition by alexander trocchi, greil marcus, richard seaver. The introductions for my copy, by greil marcus and richard seaver, are two of the.

Alexander trocchis pages drift past, monotonous and stark and radiant. He was seen as a man of towering literary genius, fated to cut a swath through the world. Jan 23, 2009 the jury is still out on whether young adam or cains book is trocchis greatest work, but regardless the former remains the best introduction to his writing because it is so much more typical of his protopostmodernist approach. Alexander trocchi was born in glasgow in 1925 to an italian father and scottish mother. Banned books part 2 cains book by alexander trocchi youtube. Young adam, of course, was turned into a successful film starring ewan mcgregor, and helped to raise the authors public perception a little. Trocchi was then deep in the throes of heroin addiction. Scott, published a biography of alexander trocchi entitled. This new edition of the criticallyacclaimed biography of alexander trocchi has been revised, extended and updated since its first publication in 1991 when it helped to create new interest in the celebrated and notorious author of young adam and cain s book.

This new edition of the criticallyacclaimed biography of alexander trocchi has been revised, extended and updated since its first publication in 1991 when it helped to create new interest in the celebrated and notorious author of young adam and cains book. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading cains book. But it s cain s book that best fulfils trocchi s hopes. Trocchi began writing poetry and prose in the late 1940s, and by the early 1950s was an established member of the artistic avantgarde. A heroin addict, he is best known for cains book, an autobiographical account of his sexual misadventures and drug abuse whilst living in new york. In the 1960s trocchi lived in observatory gardens, kensington, london on the two top floors of a 19th century terrace block comprising six stories. Mccarthy implies that the black ocean is the void of ink. See all books authored by alexander trocchi, including cains book, and young adam, and more on thriftbooks. His wife lyn prostituted herself on the streets of the lower east side. Trocchi, alexander, seaver, richard, marcus, greil. Cains book by alexander trocchi book cover, description, publication history.

If hes lucky he can creep round the corner and get a fix. Everyone gets something out of it except the junkie. Furthermore, whilst william burroughs cooked a naked lunch, trocchi cooked up a naked fix. Trocchis later novel, cains book 1961 is heavily autobiographical, describing the mental processes and nonhappenings of its heroinaddicted central protagonist, joe necchi, who is also. Mean streets alexander trocchi was the smackaddled icon of beat literature, whose writings have been eclipsed by a lurid life of porn, pimping. If the experience of heroin, of the fix, is central to cains book, both its destructive force and the possibilities it holds for creativity are recognized and accepted without apology. Documentary on alexander trocchi 1925 84, scottish born writer, poet, translator and author of young adam and cains book.

Cains book kindle edition by alexander trocchi, greil. Alexander trocchi download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. He injected himself on camera during a live television debate on drug abuse, despite being on bail at the time. Cains book by alexander trocchi nook book ebook barnes. Cains book is a novel by scottish beat writer alexander trocchi, first published in 1960. Dec, 2011 martyn wade, chief executive and national librarian introduces cain s book by scottish beat generation writer alexander trocchi s and looks at some of the reasons why it was banned on. Much like young adam, cains book avoids any conventional narrative. He moved to paris in the mid40s where he started writing first as editor of a magazine called merlin as well as other magazines, and then erotic fiction for the. The obvious book to compare this one to is william burroughs naked lunch. Cains film 1969 documentary on alexander trocchi 1925 84, scottish born writer, poet, translator and author of young adam and cains. Cain s book s raw honesty has meant that it s reputation as one of the top texts written about heroin addiction has endured. Trocchis final and most feted work apart from the oddsandends poetry shambles, man at leisure, also republished by alma classics, is a fragmented and not entirely unpretentious novelofsorts that seems to be more of a deeply psychological exploration of the authors uncompromising outsiders worldview than any sort of seminal drug novel as labelled by most, including burroughs. Trocchi s final and most feted work apart from the oddsandends poetry shambles, man at leisure, also republished by alma classics, is a fragmented and not entirely unpretentious novelofsorts that seems to be more of a deeply psychological exploration of the author s uncompromising outsider s worldview than any sort of seminal drug novel as labelled by most, including burroughs. The water is dungcoloured and slides away smoothly, horizontally before the eye.

Spatial subversion in alexander trocchi s young adam and cain s book. Martyn wade, chief executive and national librarian introduces cains book by scottish beat generation writer alexander trocchis and looks at some of the reasons why it was banned on. It was at this time too that trocchi wrote cains book telling of his sexual. Aug 23, 2007 young adam, of course, was turned into a successful film starring ewan mcgregor, and helped to raise the author s public perception a little. An early sequence in cains book takes us through a kind of proust moment of perception and recall in which trocchi, watching a man urinating in an alley, becomes like a piece of sensitive photographic paper, waiting passively. Tasker g 2014 spatial subversion in alexander trocchis young adam and cains book. Cains book is the first novel by scottish beat writer alexander trocchi. Under the name frances lengel, trocchi churned out numerous pornographic books including the now classic helen and desire 1954 and a dirty version of his own book young adam 1954. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading cain s book. Documentary on alexander trocchi 1925 1984, scottish born writer, poet, translator and author of young adam and cains book. So begins cain s book, alexander trocchi s incredible novel of existential dread.

A roman a clef, it details the life of joe necchi, a heroin addict and writer, who is living and. This will give a context for the three different examples of trocchis writing that ill go on to introduce. If the experience of heroin, of the fix, is central to cains book, both its destructive force and the. Cains book, alexander trocchis drugrelated mastercrime, is a novel to give to minors, a book to corrupt young people. Cains book alexander trocchi, greil marcus, richard seaver isbn. Young adam, its predecessor, is better known, but the latter is. This is the journal of joe necchi, a junkie living on a barge that plie. Alexander trocchi, the author of cains book and young adam, was born in glasgow, scotland, in during the s and s he lived mainly in paris. He resided mainly in paris and new york throughout his life. Not that these are the only junkie novels far from it but they are both wellknown in their own areas. Jan 19, 2012 he argued that art and life are no longer divided, and because of this integral interrelationship, ill begin with a brief biographical overview of his literary life. A heroin addict, he is best known for cain s book, an autobiographical account of his sexual misadventures and drug abuse whilst living in new york. Alexander trocchi, the author of cains book and young adam, was born in glasgow, scotland, in 1925. Written in america while trocchi was working on a scow on the hudson river, cains book is an extraordinary autobiographical account about.

Written in america while trocchi was working on a scow on the hudson river, cains book is an extraordinary autobiographical account about a junkys life, and. Cain s book is trocchi s selfreflexive look at his life as a junky. Young adam, of course, was turned into a successful film starring ewan mcgregor, and helped to raise the author s public perception a little. Alexander trocchi the art and popular culture encyclopedia. Apr 12, 2002 cain s book is a novel by scottish beat writer alexander trocchi, first published in 1960. Banned books part 2 cain s book by alexander trocchi martyn wade, chief executive and national. Cain s film 1969 documentary on alexander trocchi 1925 84, scottish born writer, poet, translator and author of young adam and cain s. A roman a clef, it details the life of joe necchi, a heroin addict and writer, who is living and working on a scow on the hudson river, new york. Bookmark file pdf cains book alexander trocchi cains book alexander trocchi alexander trocchi.

Alexander trocchi, the author of cain s book and young adam, was born in glasgow, scotland, in during the s and s he lived mainly in paris. The uncanny nature of the heterotopia, their contradictory spatiality, and their implicitly subversive disruption of social norms, makes them particularly relevant to alexander trocchis texts and, as i will argue, to the concept of the edge. The introduction s for my copy, by greil marcus and richard seaver, are two of the most dismissive, pessimistic book intros ive read. Tasker g 2014 spatial subversion in alexander trocchi s young adam and cain s book. Alexander trocchi left glasgow university with the honours of a brilliant philosophy scholar. Written in america while trocchi was working on a scow on the hudson river, cains book is an extraordinary autobiographical account about a. Cains book is trocchi s selfreflexive look at his life as a junky. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Trocchi and his friends also published samuel beckett s war and memory and jean genet s thief s journal in english for the first time.

In 1991 a young scottish critic, aptly named andrew murray. Spatial subversion in alexander trocchis young adam and cain. The biography of alexander trocchi suggests a life of many parts. He argued that art and life are no longer divided, and because of this integral interrelationship, ill begin with a brief biographical overview of his literary life. But its cains book that best fulfils trocchis hopes. Banned books part 2 cains book by alexander trocchi martyn wade, chief executive and national. Trocchi was deep in the thralls of heroin now, he failed to attend his own launch party for cains book, and his wife lyn was prostitiuting herself on the streets of the lower east. Cains book is trocchis selfreflexive look at his life as a junky. He was an editor of the literary journal merlin, which published works by eugene ionesco, samuel beckett, jeanpaul sartre, and others. Its negative in the strict chemical or photographic sense of the word. Alexander trocchi issue 21, springsummer 1959 i am sitting near perth amboy, n. John citizen can sit back feeling exonerated and watch evil get its deserts. Alexander trocchi 19251984 was a scottish novelist whose numerous works include cains book.