Arthur S. Nusbaum

Arthur S. Nusbaum is a long-time collector and independent scholar of the Beat Generation and its legacy, with special emphasis on the life and work of William S. Burroughs.

In 2010 Nusbaum founded Third Mind Books in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which aims to combine precision condition-grading and rigorous historical specificity in each listing; to truly “curate” every offering.

Nusbaum has attended the annual European Beat Studies Network Conferences since their inception in 2012, and has presented at five of the six conferences. 2013 saw Nusbaum’s revealing interview with encyclopedic scholar and head of Burroughs Communications, James Grauerholz, while his 2015 presentation dealt with a largely unpublished series of letters from Paul Bowles to James Leo Herlihy. In 2016 Nusbaum debuted a controversial, outspoken interview of seminal Beat scholar, John Tytell, and his 2017 presentation relayed the untold story of Thomas Rain Crowe and the Second San Francisco Renaissance.

Nusbaum’s 2018 presentation at the “Beats & Politics: Past and Present” Vienna Conference, “Burroughs is in New York: William S. Burroughs & the John Tytell Archive” examined WSB’s activities and ideas after his return to New York following 25 years of legendary expatriate activity. The 2023 presentation,

In June, 2022 Nusbaum and his team opened the Third Mind Books storefront-&-venue on 118 E. Washington St. in Downtown Ann Arbor, MI.

The latest TMB Original Presentation, “The Center Street Cut-Ups” focuses on a tranche of documents acquired at auction that once belonged to the painter, David Prentice. Prentice was a close friend to Burroughs, and his Papers document a very key time in the development of the Cut-Ups as both a literary technique and original philosophic contribution.

Nusbaum welcomes correspondence with his consanguineous colleagues in the Beat-&-Beyond community and plans to contribute to Beat-&-Beyond bookselling and literary scholarship for many years to come.