Papers, Events and Media Appearances

OLIVER HARRIS

Conference and seminar papers, academic and creative events, consultancies, podcasts and media appearances

CONFERENCE/SEMINAR PAPERS
YearConference/Seminar Paper
2025“The Scholarly-Type Mind,” Opening Address to the 13th Annual Conference of the EBSN, Hildesheim (15/9/2025)
2025“The Beats – Contours: The Cambridge Literary Studies Hour”, online (25/6/2025)
2025“The Mystery of Academia,” Leek Loves Books literary festival (7/6/2025)
2024“Teaching the Beats,” roundtable presentation at “The Beats: Wilderness and Wildness,” the Twelfth Annual Conference of the European Beat Studies Network, Bialystok, Poland (13/5/24).
2023Opening Address and Panel Chair at CUT-UPS@2023 Conference at the University of Chicago Center, Paris (12/9/2023).
2021Opening Address and Panel Chair, “Beat Studies—Present and Future,” the Tenth Annual Conference of the European Beat Studies Network Virtual Conference (29-31/10/21)
2017“un règlement de comptes avec la Littérature: A Cut-Up Mystery,” Sixth Annual Conference of the European Beat Studies Network, Paris (20/9/17)
2016Opening Address to the Fifth Annual Conference of the European Beat Studies Network Conference, Manchester (27/6/16)
2014“The Nova Machine Exploded,” “William Burroughs @100 Conference,” International Anthony Burgess Foundation in Manchester (13/12/14)
2014Keynote Address, “Shift, Spit, Cut: A Genetic Geography of Naked Lunch” The Third Annual Conference of the European Beat Studies Network, Tangier (17/11/14)
2014“Editing The Cut-Up Trilogy,” The New York Public Library (26/4/14)
2014Keynote Address, “Cutting Up The Trilogy,” to The William Burroughs Centennial Conference, City University of New York (25/4/14)
2014Keynote Address, “A Life-Time Cut-Up,” to “Beyond the Cut-Up: William S. Burroughs and the Image,” The Photographer’s Gallery, London (15/2/14)
2014Chair, European Beat Studies Panel, British Association of American Studies Conference, Birmingham University (11/4/14)
2014Keynote Address, “Cutting Up the Century,” to “The Burroughs Century Conference,” Indiana University, Bloomington (7/2/14)
2012Opening Address to the European Beat Studies Conference, Middelburg, Holland (5/9/12)
2012Keynote Address, “Working the Hole with William Burroughs: Censorship and The Soft Machine,” to “Underground” Conference, Koc University, Istanbul (8/5/12)
2012Chair, European Beat Studies Panel, British Association of American Studies Conference, Manchester (13/4/12)
2011 “The Beats / The French / The American Century,” Department of English and Comparative Literature, Columbia University, New York (5/4/11)
2010 “Sawing William Burroughs in Half: the Origins of Naked Lunch,” Temple University, Philadelphia (14/9/10)
2010 “‘Confusion’s Masterpiece’: Re-editing William Burroughs’ First Trilogy,” Book History Colloquium, Columbia University, New York (16/9/10)
2010“Double-Crossing Hemingway: The Iceberg Aesthetic as Red Herring,” Department of English, University of York (3/3/10)
2009“The Frisco Kid, He Never Returns: William Burroughs in San Francisco,” San Francisco Art Institute (20/11/09)
2009Keynote Address, “From Dr Mabuse to Doc Benway: The Myths and Manuscripts of Naked Lunch,” William Burroughs Conference, Columbia University, New York (9/10/09)
2009Organiser’s Address to Naked Lunch@50 Symposium, University of London Institute in Paris (1/7/09)
2009“Burroughs and Kerouac on the road to Naked Lunch,” University of Sussex (24/2/09)
2008Plenary Address, “The Holy Shit of Burroughs and Kerouac,” to “The Beats and the Post-Beats,” University of Birmingham (13/12/08)
2008 “The Inside Story on Covers: Confessions of a Burroughs Scholar,” “Uncovering the Scholarly Edition” symposium, Keele (18/6/08)
2008“Beating Scholarship: On the Unspoken Truth about Editing and Publishing," American Literature Association, San Francisco (5/08)
2007 “Cutting Up the Archive: William Burroughs and the Composite Text,” Annual Symposium on Textual Studies, De Montfort University (25/5/07)
2007“Cutting Up the Beat Hotel,” British Association of American Studies Annual Conference, University of Leicester (4/07)
2006“Burroughs’ Mexican Triptych: Junky, Queer, and Yage,” UNAM, Facultad de filosofía y letras (5/9)
2003Keynote Speaker, “Junky at Fifty,” Columbia University (4/03)
2000“Film Noir Fascination,” American Culture Association, New Orleans
1998“Queer Shoulders, Queer Wheel,” Netherlands American Studies Association Conference, Middelburg, Holland
1997“The Beat Mythology,” North Eastern Modern Languages Association Conference, Philadelphia
1996/97/99Seminars, Department of English, Université Charles de Gaule, Lille-3
1996“I-con-oclast,” Department of English, Glasgow University
ACADEMIC/CREATIVE EVENTS
YearAcademic/Creative Event
2025“The Mystery of Academia” talk at Leek Loves Books (7/6/2025)
2025Talk at the October Gallery, London (8/3/2025)
2023Organiser of CUT-UPS@2023 Conference, Paris (12-5/9/2023)
2019Organised @60, 1-day event, Paris (9/2019)
2016Co-organised the Fifth Annual Conference of the European Beat Studies Network, Manchester (26-30/6/16)
2015Introductory Panel Chair, “Still Howling” (Ginsberg’s Howl @60), Manchester (10/10)
2014Organised the Third Annual Conference of the European Beat Studies Network, Tangier, Morocco (17-19/11/14)
2014In Conversation with Barry Miles, The William Burroughs Centennial Conference, City University of New York (25/4/14)
2014Reading, St Marks Poetry Project, New York (23/4/14)
2012Organised the Inaugural Conference of the European Beat Studies Network, The Roosevelt Academy, Middelburg, Holland
2009“A Fifty Year Lunch,” illustrated talk at The Cube Cinema, Bristol
2009Co-organised “Naked Lunch@50” 3-day Symposium and Events. University of London Institute in Paris
2008Co-organised and contributed to “Uncovering the Scholarly Edition” symposium, Keele
2005“A Flash of Vision,” illustrated lecture for the William Burroughs exhibition at the Riflemaker Gallery, London
1998Co-organised and contributed to “A Chance Encounter: William Burroughs / John Cage” a multi-media academic/creative event, Keele
1997Organised readings at Keele by David Meltzer and Jack Hirschman
1995Organised readings at Keele by Ron Sukenick and Robert Creeley
1994Organised The William Burroughs Symposium, Keele
CONSULTANCIES, PODCASTS AND MEDIA
YearConsultancy/Podcast/Media Appearance
2025Video interview about the making of Queer
2022-2024Consultant to Luca Guadadigno, director of an adaptation of Burroughs’ novel, Queer, starring Daniel Craig
2021Interviewed for audio documentary series Trickster: The Many Lives of Carlos Castaneda (featuring in episodes 1 and 4); on Apple Podcasts and Spotify
2020Podcast interview by Ben Heal of the European Beat Studies Network (August 2020)
2020Podcast interview by poet Elizabeth Torres for her Red Transmissions series (December 2020)
2016Interviewed in The Jewish Telegraph (24/6/16)
2014Interviewed in Huffington Post Maroc (22/11/14)
2014Interview for Burroughs 100 Official Website (6/11/14)
2014The Guardian Newspaper, Live Webchat (25/2/14)
2014BBC Radio 4: Burroughs at 100: Contributed interviews
2013Paul Bowles: The Cage Door is Always Open (documentary film by Daniel Young): Contributed interviews
2012BBC Radio 4, “The Beat Hotel”: Interviewed for broadcast
2012Beat Hotel (documentary film by Alan Govenar): Contributed interviews
2009Agence-France-Presse: Interviewed about Naked Lunch anniversary
2006Reforma (Mexico City): Interviewed about Burroughs and the Beats
2006New York Times (3/1/06): Interviewed about NYPL literary archives
2005BBC Radio 3: Discussion of collage in the arts on “The Verb”
2003Beat Scene magazine (issue 43): Interview
2000Beat (starring Courtney Love): Research consultant
1999Times Higher Educational Supplement (1401): Interview
1998BBC Radio Stoke: Interviewed on the Burroughs/Cage Symposium
1997Radio National (Australia): William Burroughs obituary interview