Alexander Trocchi was born in Glasgow in 1925. By the time of his death
in 1984, he had cut a colourful swathe through many of the important
cultural movements in both Europe and America. A controversial figure,
described variously as a junkie, pimp, outsider, Scottish beat,
literary outlaw, visionary, philosopher, underground organiser and
antique book dealer, Trocchi rubbed shoulders with many of the great
names of modern literature. Allen Ginsberg, Samuel Beckett, William
Burroughs, Eugene Ionesco, Norman Mailer, Jean Genet, Timothy Leary,
R.D. Laing and many others fell into his orbit of influence. The best
of his novels include Helen and Desire, Young Adam, and the semi-autobiographical junk classic, Cain's Book.