Writing with Scissors

William Burroughs’ idea regarding the creation of new forms of writing via the cut/fold method is something that doesn’t really sit all that well with me. This is probably because I’m a writer myself, and the idea of cutting up my pages in order to achieve something seems kind of silly.

I can see what he’s getting at, though. Burroughs seems almost more interested in the interesting things language can do when used in an unordinary manner, however certain forms of writing (such as L.A.N.G.U.A.G.E. poetry) deals with this, and it’s still “real writing,” if you will. This style of poetry recognizes the various uses of different words and groups them together (sometimes) nonsensically to create effects a read might not have experienced before.

Burroughs’ idea, however, just seems like a gimmick to me, though. I can only really see it being effective if done perfectly, and then only if the person who wrote the original piece was a good writer. And if that person was a good writer, they would be able to make an intriguing and new piece without having to use this technique.