Christophe Becker's "Géométrie de la souffrance" (2022)

Paris: Rivenueve (book, biography), 2022.
7.5" x 5" x 1.125" (339 pages, softcover, ISBN 978-2-36013-656-8.

Géométrie de la souffrance: Genesis P-Orridge + William S. Burroughs by Christophe Becker, as published in softcover by Rivenueve (Paris, France) in 2022. Introduction by Clémentine Hougue. The review committee consisted of Hyacinthe Belliot, Flavien Bertran de Balanda, Philippe Gonin, Denis Mellier, and Pascal Ory. Cover Illustration is by Podpunkt Editorial. Supervised by Hyacinthe Belliot. Design and production by Solveig Serre. Text is in the French language. 

This book explores the connections between and overlaps in the explorations of William S. Burroughs and Genesis P-Orridge. Loosely translated into English from the back cover: "this book aims to trace the connections between the writer and the musician, [both] innovative and experimental artists, and how one of the most important writers of 20th-century literature, through his programmatic texts, opened the doors to major revolutions in the domain of sound studies and a reflection on the body as a object of experimentation.  The book also gives voice to some of the key figures of the time (Spydeee Gasmantell, Vittore Baroni, Klaus Maeck) as well as to adaptors of Burroughs' work (Bertrand Mandico). Finally, the work raises the question of re-reading Burroughs' corpus in light of a redefinition of power dynamics."

This copy is inscribed by the author – after noting that Christophe was speaking at the "Cut-Ups@2023" EBSN Conference in Paris, which I was attending, I packed it in my suitcase to get his autograph. As it turns out, this was the first copy that he was asked to sign, and he left a rather nice "William Tell" drawing on the title page. 

Someone should publish this in English.

Contents: 

• Clémentine Hougue: "WSB x GPO: Géométries Mutantes" (preface)
• Christophe Becker: "Vive es enragés qui bâtissent des aventures" (introduction)
• Christophe Becker: "Sources"
• Christophe Becker: "Géométrie de la souffrance":
• "Première Partie: La Société est une fleur carnivore":
• "Chapitre Premier: "William S. Burroughs et la musique":
• "1. The Electronic Revolution"
• "2. Le son Burroughs"
• "I Still Want to Murder Music"
• "Chapitre 2: Genesis P-Orridge Heaven and Hell":
• "1. The Greatest Human Catastrophe Since Adam Got a Hard On"
• "2. Musique et culture industrielle"
• "3. Industrial Records"
• "Partie 2: Dans le cavernes de l'ordre nos mains forgeront des bombes":
• "Chapitre 3: Thee Temple Ov Psychic [sic] Youth":
• "1. Fun and Games"
• "2. On the Way to the Garden" 
• "Chapitre 4: Expérimentations Sonores":
• "1. Singularité du collage sonore"
• "2. Une approche burroughsienne du tape splicing"
• "3. Expériences d'Orridge et Monte Cazazza avec le magnétophone"
• "4. Nothing Here Now But the Recordings"
• "5. Le copyright, ou le voleur inspiré et consciencieux"
• "6. The Electric Newspaper"
• "Partie 3: La Révolution doit se faire dans les hommes avant de se réalier dans les choses":
• "Chapitre 5: "Une algèbre du besoin":
• "1. Le phénomène d'intoxication"
• "2. William S. Burroughs et les substances hallucinogènes"
• "3. Le LSD-25"
• "Chapitre 6: Former des bandes, briser les cadres":
• "1. Une redéfinition du paysage sonore"
• "2. De la MDMA à la E culture"
• "3. De Jajouka à la techno"
• "4. La répétition de la phrase sonore"
• "Chapitre 7: Vers le surhumain":
• "1. Le piercing ou l'infâme de droit"
• "2. Une cartographie du corps humain"
• "3. The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye"
• "Partie 4: Comment penser librement à l'ombre d'une chapelle: nouvelles postérités":
• "1. Entretien avec Spydeee Gasmantell"
• "2. Entretien avec Vittore Baroni"
• "3. Entretien avec Chris Phinney"
• "4. Entretien avec Gary Levermore"
• "5. Entretien avec Justin Mitchell"
• "6. Entretien avec Klaus Maeck"
• "7. Entretien avec Bertrand Mandico"
• "Conclusion: Heaven and Hell 2017"
• "Annexes":
• "1. Death of a Magus" 
• "2. Références et citations"
• "Bibliographie Sélective":
• "1. William S. Burroughs":
• "1. Œuvres de William S. Burroughs"
• "2. Entretiens, correspondances"
• "3. Ouvrages autour de William S. Burroughs"
• "4. Travaux universitaires"
• "5. Ouvrages critiques sur l'œuvre burroughsienne"
• "2. Genesis P-Orridge":
• "1. Textes écrits par Genesis P-Orridge"
• "2. Ouvrages partiellement ou entièrement consacrés à Genesis P-Orridge"
• "3. Ouvrages collectifs"
• "3. Ouvrages sur la musique et le son"
• "Playlist"
• "Table des Matières"
• Illustrations:
• James Grauerholz: "William Burroughs, Kansas, 1984" (photograph)
• Malcolm Mc Neill: "William S. Burroughs, dans Cyclops, 1970" (illustration)
• poster for the exhibition of COUM's Prostitution at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), London, October 1976
• Bertrand Mandico: "Photocopied William" (gouache on paper)
• cover of the fanzine Christmas Issue, issue 3
• Spydeee Gasmantell and Skot Armstrong: "Dream Catalogues, 2020-2022" (collages)
• Spydeee Gasmantell: "Words are always a better weapon than guns, late 1960s" (collage)
• Genesis P-Orridge: letter to Klaus Maeck, 2 March 1982
• Bertrand Mandico: "Les Garçons Sauvages" (painting)
• Cosey Fanni Tutti: "Spydeee, Moonshine, and Genesis P-Orridge, Prince Street, Hull, early 1970s" (photograph)
• Klaus Maeck: photograph of Klaus with Genesis, Harry Hafen Basar, Hamburg, Germany, 1999
• exhibition view of COUM Transmissions, Hull, 3-4 February 2017