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87.
LOS ANGELES FREE PRESS #318 (August 21, 1970) + Peter Matson TLS.
Ed. Art Kunkin. Tabloid newspaper format in two parts.
The second part contains “This Man Has Been Scrambled”, a reprint of “Scrambles”, first published by Miles in IT #83 (July 17, 1970), a further elaboration on the technique of tape recorder cut-ups and their uses as revolutionary weapons and as “entertainment” (Burroughs imagines their use at “a pop festival like Phun City” where “a number of tape recorders are planted in the woods and the village”; afterwards, in a letter to Brion Gysin, dated August 9, 1970, Burroughs wrote that “Phun City was rather fun, but no chance to do anything with recorders.”).
Also: The Whole Earth Fair and Festival of Peace in Boulder, Colorado; Ed Sanders’ “Manson gossip column”; Angela Davis; ½-page ad. for Led Zeppelin at The Forum (with photo); ads. for the Mothers of Invention at the Santa Monica Civic, Little Richard at the Whisky. Folded once, as issued; newsprint slightly toned, o/w Near Fine.
Together with:
i) a typed letter signed from Burroughs’ literary agent, Peter Matson, to the Editor in Chief of the LA Free Press, Peter Eberle, dated July 31, 1970. The letter opens: “Enclosed a follow-up to William Burroughs’ first piece on cut-ups, which he hopes you will be able to use, but not, hopefully, without first letting us know. In that regard, could you please send us copies of your issue of June 26th?” (it’s possible that the paper published the earlier piece, “Cut Ups as Underground Weapons”, without notifying Matson). The letterhead bears the name and address of Peter Matson’s uncle’s agency, Harold Matson Company, Inc.
ii) an 8pp. photo-reproduced copy of Burroughs’ original typescript of “Scrambles”, with a few amendments in his hand in the copy. Each page has been prepared for publication with proofreader’s blue ink and crayon marks, indicating paragraph breaks and correcting typos.
The letter and typescript copy are enclosed within a green card folder bearing the agency’s name and New York address, with a small label typed with the article’s title and its author’s name affixed to the top corner. Slight wear to folder, o/w Near Fine.
