J. G. BALLARD - MISCELLANEOUS MEDIA

The dividing line between Ballard's fiction and his non-fiction is unclear, especially his vignettes dating from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s. Pringle (1984) solves this problem by classifying a number of pieces under the separate heading of Miscellaneous Media. This section of the Guide lists those items, together with one other, and describes the nature of each piece.

HOMAGE TO CLAIRE CHURCHILL: Ambit, #32, Summer 1967 

The first of a series of what Ballard termed 'advertiser's announcements', consisting of a photograph accompanied by some brief text. These appeared in Ambit and New Worlds, usually on the back cover, with Ballard purchasing the space in the magazine just as a normal advertiser would have done. This, the first in the series, also appeared in New Worlds (#176, October 1967).

All of the advertiser's announcements were reproduced in Re/Search 8/9: J. G. Ballard.

DOES THE ANGLE BETWEEN TWO WALLS HAVE A HAPPY ENDING?: Ambit, #33, Autumn 1967 

The second 'advertiser's announcement'; this one also appeared in New Worlds (#178, December 1967), and then a second time in Ambit some years later (#60, Autumn 1974).

THE BATHROOM: A FILM IN PROGRESS BY STEVE DWOSKIN: The Running Man, #2, July-August 1968

A film review, of sorts, this was sufficiently 'impressionistic' for David Pringle to classify it as Miscellaneous Media rather than non-fiction.

This issue of The Running Man also contained the second publication of Ballard's story Love and Napalm: Export U.S.A.

A NEURAL INTERVAL: Ambit, #36, Summer 1968 

A third 'advertiser's announcement'; also appeared in New Worlds (#185, December 1968).

This issue of Ambit also contained Ballard's story The Great American Nude.

Ambit, #36	Ambit, #36, advertiser's announcement on back cover

LOVE: A PRINT-OUT FOR CLAIRE CHURCHILL: Ambit, #37, Autumn 1968 

A straightforward 'concrete poem'.

This issue of Ambit was in a newspaper format, and also contained a piece by William Burroughs. It should still be available from Ambit directly. 

Ambit, #37

HOW DR CHRISTOPHER EVANS LANDED ON THE MOON: New Worlds, #187, February 1969 

A spoof computer printout.

This was one of the large format issues of New Worlds, albeit not one of the scarcest.

PLACENTAL INSUFFICIENCY: Ambit, #45, Autumn 1970 

Another 'advertiser's announcement'.

VENUS SMILES: Ambit, #46, Winter 1970/1971 

The final 'advertiser's announcement'.

THE SIDE-EFFECTS OF ORTHONOVIN G.: Ambit, #50, Spring 1972 

The Side-Effects of Orthonovin G. was originally thought to be a set of satirical monologues, purportedly written by members of the Department of Sociology, Yale University. However, according to Martin Bax, editor of Ambit, they are 'found texts' - short biographies written by American women who had taken Orthonovin G., a birth control pill.

The photo on the front cover of Ambit #50 was taken to mark a public reading of The Side-Effects of Orthonovin G. The reading was performed by Euphoria Bliss, professional stripper and friend of Ballard and Martin Bax. Among Bliss's admirers in the cover photo are Ballard (seated, middle), Bax (standing, right) and Eduardo Paolozzi (seated, left). 

'Side-Effects' was reprinted in Re/Search 8/9: J. G. Ballard

Ambit, #50

THE INVISIBLE YEARS: Ambit, #67, Summer 1976 

The Invisible Years was a series of texts to accompany drawings by Ronald Sandford, written by Ballard, Martin Bax, and various others. The series ran for fourteen issues of Ambit, #66 to #79. The credits for all fourteen of the individual texts refer to both Ballard and Bax, although David Pringle attributes just six of these texts directly to Ballard, mainly on grounds of style, and only these six are noted here.

Ambit, #67	Ambit, #67, extract from The Invisible Years

THE INVISIBLE YEARS: Ambit, #69, Winter 1976/1977 

THE INVISIBLE YEARS: Ambit, #72, Autumn 1977 

THE INVISIBLE YEARS: Ambit, #73, Winter 1977/1978 

THE INVISIBLE YEARS: Ambit, #75, Summer 1978 

This issue of Ambit also contained Ballard's story Zodiac 2000.

ZERO SYNTHESIS: New Worlds, #213, Summer 1978 

During the 1950s, Ballard put together a series of collages that incorporated themes and names that were later to resurface in the stories that formed The Atrocity Exhibition. These collages were eventually published in New Worlds #213, one of a small number of large format issues of the magazine that were issued in the late 1970s. Though a scarce issue, the occasional copy is seen on Abebooks or eBay.

Strictly speaking, the collages are untitled, Zero Synthesis being simply the first words. They were re-printed in Re/Search 8/9: J. G. Ballard.

New Worlds, #213	One of the collages from New Worlds #213

THE INVISIBLE YEARS: Ambit, #78, Spring 1979 

WHAT I BELIEVE: Interzone, #8, Summer 1984 

A prose poem, originally published in French in Science Fiction #1 (ed. Daniel Riche) in January 1984; its first English appearance was later the same year in Interzone. This piece was re-printed in Re/Search 8/9: J. G. Ballard.

 

Science Fiction, #1	Interzone, #8

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