William S. Burroughs was the writer of books such as Naked Lunch, Nova Express, and Junky. Often associated with the Beat Generation, he is perhaps most famous for shooting and killing his wife Joan Vollmer.
Along with close friend and collaborator Brion Gysin, Burroughs pioneered the “cut-up” method in his writings. Burroughs is less well known as a visual artist, but was a prolific painter in his later life. He was also a magician and conducted many magical experiments with Gysin and was a member of the IOT.
Through his influence on writers such as J.G. Ballard and William Gibson and musicians like Genesis P. Orridge, Burroughs was a foundational influence on cyberpunk literature and industrial music.
Recent news
Fantagraphics is publishing a lost graphic novel by William S. Burroughs and Malcolm McNeil. You can pre-order it here.
Burroughs: the Man Within has been released. You can buy it on DVD or watch it on Netflix.
Unreleased William S. Burroughs tape experiments to debut in London 28th May – 18th July 2010
And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks, a lost novel by Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, is now available. Scholarly review here.
Still looking for the correct “paranoid” quote
Unofficial sites
Reality Studio a William S. Burroughs community site. The definitive WSB resource on the web. Extensive collection of materials.
Unofficial William S. Burroughs site. Also excellent.
Interviews
Above: Burroughs interviewed by Kathy Acker (Part 2, Part 3)
An interview with Burroughs on magick (Date???)
Interview in 21C magazine June 1991
The Making of Naked Lunch interviews with David Cronenberg and William S. Burroughs on the making of the Naked Lunch film.
Paris Review interview with William S. Burroughs from 1965
Documentaries
New Burroughs documentary out now Limited release. Trailer available.
Burroughs: The Movie documentary from 1985 (full video streaming for free)
1993 documentary: Commissioner of Sewers
Works by Burroughs
Pirate Tape, a collaboration between William S. Burroughs, Derek Jarman and Psychic TV.
Gus Van Sant’s film adaptation of Burroughs’ The Discipline Of Do Easy
MAN! YOU VOTED FOR A GODDAMN APE! (PDF, originally published in Esquire in 1968)
Burroughs interviews David Bowie in 1974
Burroughs interviews Jimmy Page in 1975
Naked Scientology Burroughs on Scientology
Excerpt from Hashisheen: The End of Law
Roger Holden and William S. Burroughs’s “Cybernetic Cut-Ups” – Burroughs’s only known experiments with computers, in collaboration with computer animator Roger Holden.
Writings on Burroughs
Interview with James Grauerholz on William S. Burroughs and Magick
Interview with Burroughs documentary maker Yony Leyser
The Death of Joan Vollmer Burroughs: What Really Happened? (long PDF about William and Joan’s relationship)
The Beat Goes On: Acker on Burroughs by Kathy Acker, from 21C Magazine
Wild Girls: Acker rewrites Burroughs by Kathy Acker, from 21C Magazine
David Cronenberg talks about Burroughs
Misc
Above: William S. Burroughs Nike commercial
Above: Burroughs shooting with Ralph Steadman.
Bioart Project Seeks to Extract, Copy and Spread William S. Burroughs’s DNA – From a Preserved Turd
William S. Burroughs reads Jim Morrison’s “Is Everybody In”
Wikipedia entry for the Naked Lunch film
Obit for Burroughs mentor José Férez Kuri
Photographs of William S. Burroughs’s stuff
Extensive collection of William S. Burroughs book covers
New Burroughs book covers by Owen Freeman
The hidden roots of the 23 Enigma
Digital Cut-Ups: Teaching Creative Writing with Programming
Reality Studio recently investigated the long running rumor that Burroughs told off late Joy Division singer Ian Curtis at a concert. Their dossier is here. The most relevant bit, I think, is buried pretty far down. It’s an interview with Cabaret Voltaire’s Richard Kirk, who also played at the same event:
Legend has it that Burroughs uncharacteristically told Ian Curtis to fuck off at the Plan K gig.
I very much doubt wether William told Ian Curtis to fuck off. I approached Mr Burroughs at the Plan K event, and mentioned I was a friend of Genesis P Orridge from Throbbing Gristle, who of course was known to William — he didn’t know me or had heard of my band Cabaret Voltaire, but was very friendly and a very polite old gentleman. I even gave him a Cabaret Voltaire badge, which he pocketed. This was the first of several occasions that I met Mr Burroughs.
Do you have any recollections of Burroughs or Curtis at the gig?
I already knew Ian quite well by the time of the Plan K event. Joy Division had played with Cabaret Voltaire at the Factory Club in Manchester, the Revolution Club in York, in 1978, and at the Futurama Festival in Leeds in 1979, and we were quite excited by the fact that Burroughs was going to be reading at the event.
My one enduring memory from Plan K was of sitting around a table with Ian, William and other band members of Joy Divison and Cabaret Voltaire. Ian asked William what he thought of Suicide (the band), William thought he meant the act of suicide, and I think said he disapproved. William was disturbed by the popping of champagne corks at the party, which he mistook for gunshots!
See Also
NOTE
Most of the links above are internal links for 2 reasons:
1. It means I’ll only have to fix deadlinks in one place
2. In case of deadlinks, the original posts usually have at least an excerpt from the original link, so you’ll at least be able to read something.
Please report deadlinks and, better yet, replacement links in the comments
