William S. Burroughs PDF
Preview William S. Burroughs
William S. Burroughs PhilBaker William S. Burroughs TitlesintheseriesCriticalLivespresenttheworkofleadingculturalfigures ofthemodernperiod.Eachbookexploresthelifeoftheartist,writer, philosopherorarchitectinquestionandrelatesittotheirmajorworks. Inthesameseries JeanGenet OctavioPaz StephenBarber NickCaistor MichelFoucault WalterBenjamin DavidMacey EstherLeslie PabloPicasso CharlesBaudelaire MaryAnnCaws RosemaryLloyd FranzKafka JeanCocteau SanderL.Gilman JamesS.Williams GuyDebord SergeiEisenstein AndyMerrifield MikeO’Mahony MarcelDuchamp SalvadorDalí CarolineCros MaryAnnCaws JamesJoyce SimonedeBeauvoir AndrewGibson UrsulaTidd FrankLloydWright EdgarAllanPoe RobertMcCarter KevinJ.Hayes Jean-PaulSartre SamuelBeckett AndrewLeak AndrewGibson NoamChomsky PabloNeruda WolfgangB.Sperlich DominicMoran JorgeLuisBorges VladimirNabokov JasonWilson BarbaraWyllie ErikSatie ConstantinBrancusi MaryE.Davis SandaMiller GeorgesBataille GertrudeStein StuartKendall LucyDaniel LudwigWittgenstein EdwardKanterian William S. Burroughs Phil Baker reaktion books PublishedbyReaktionBooksLtd 33GreatSuttonStreet Londonec1v0dx,uk www.reaktionbooks.co.uk Firstpublished2010 Copyright©PhilBaker2010 Allrightsreserved Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem, ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical, photocopying,recordingorotherwise,withoutthepriorpermission ofthepublishers. PrintedandboundinGreatBritain byCromwellPressGroup,Trowbridge,Wiltshire BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData Baker,Phil,1961– WilliamS.Burroughs.–(Criticallives) 1.Burroughs,WilliamS.,1914–1997. 2.Authors,American–20thcentury–Biography. 3.Beatgeneration. I.Title II.Series 813.5’4-dc22 isbn9781861896636 Contents 1 StLouisBlues 7 2 TheHiddenAntagonist 21 3 NewYork,NewYork 34 4 GoSouth,YoungMan 50 5 ASlipoftheGun 64 6 TangierandNakedLunch 85 7 Paris:Cut-upsattheBeatHotel 104 8 Burroughs1960–65:UndesirableAlien 132 9 SwingingLondon,1966–73 155 10 HoldingtheBunker 171 11 Kansas1981–97:AdiósMuchachos 181 References 199 SelectBibliography 218 Acknowledgements 223 PhotoAcknowledgements 224 No digital rights Haunted:apreoccupiedBurroughsinDukeStreet,London,photographedby JimPennington,1972. 1 St Louis Blues LookingbackonchildhoodinhisautobiographicalnovelJunky, Burroughswrotethathecouldputdown‘oneofthosenostalgic routines’withtheoldGermandoctornextdoor,theratsinthe backyard,andhispettoadthatlivedbythepond.Butinstead,he says,hisearliestmemoriesweremarkedbyanxiety:fearofthedark, fearofbeingalone,fearofnightmareswherea‘supernaturalhorror’ seemedalwaysonthevergeoftakingshapeandbreakingthrough intowakinglife.Itwasthroughthesenightmaresthathewasalready attractedasachild–atleastwithinhisowntelling,hispersonalmyth –totheideaofopium.Hearingamaidtalkaboutit,andhowsmoking itbroughtsweetdreams,hesaid‘IwillsmokeopiumwhenIgrowup.’1 WilliamSewardBurroughsiiwasbornon5February1914at 4664BerlinAvenue,StLouis,Missouri,apleasant,tree-linedroad whichchangeditsnametoPershingAvenueduringtheFirstWorld War.Itwasathree-storeybrickhousewithalargegardenanda pondattheback,wellsuitedtopeoplelikeMortimerandLauraLee Burroughs;peoplewithmiddle-classtasteswhowerecomfortably offbutnotwealthy.YoungWilliamwasnamedafterhisgrandfather, theWilliamSewardBurroughswhoinventedthefamousBurroughs addingmachine.Hehadrescuedtheprojectfrominitialdisaster, whenitwasfoundthatthemachinesgavedifferentfiguresdepend- ingonhowhardthehandlewaspulled.Thebankssentthemback andBurroughsfacedruin,butthenhediscoveredthepullcould beregulatedbyahydraulicoildevice,andthemachinewasin 7 businessagain.AshisnamesakewroteinNakedLunch:‘nomatter howyoujerkthehandleresultisalwaysthesameforgiven co-ordinates.Gotmytrainingearly...wouldn’tyou?’2 Onhismother’ssideBillwasdescendedfromastaunch SouthernMethodistpreacher,JamesWidemanLeefromGeorgia, andperhapsmoredistantlyrelatedtoConfederateGeneralRobert E.Lee(awidespreadclaimamongSouthernersnamedLee).Laura Lee’sbrotherIvyupdatedthefamily’srhetoricalbackgroundasa pioneerinthenascentartofPublicRelations.Knownas‘Poison Ivy’Lee,hewasatthetopofhisprofession,withaclientlistthat includedtheRockefellers.Inthe1930s,igFarben–theGerman firmnowrememberedformanufacturingZyklonB,thegasused intheHolocaust–paidhimtoimproveHitler’simageinAmerica. Anotheruncle,HoraceBurroughs,becameamorphineaddict. Hewasoneofmany,backintheyearsofAmerica’s‘DarkParadise’3 oflegalopiates,whichonlycametoanendintheyearBillwas born,withthe1914HarrisonNarcoticsAct.‘Hasanyoneconsidered thesimplefact,’Burroughsaskedinaninterview,‘thatdrugswere legalinAmericauntilsomewherearound1914?Youcouldbuy morphine,heroin,cocaine,allsortsoftinctures,extractsof cannabis...Goodformanandbeast...Yessir,thegoodold days...Theydon’tevenliketoadmitthe19thcenturyexisted, thattherewasatimewhendrugscouldbesoldinAmerica.’4 HoraceBurroughskilledhimselfin1915attheageof29. GrandfatherBurroughsoverworked,drankhard,anddied fromtbinhisearlyforties,leavinghisbusinesspartnerJoe Boyertomakeafortuneandchangethecompanynamefrom theAmericanArithmometerCompanytotheBurroughsAdding MachineCompany.TheBurroughsfamilywerenotasrichas theyaresometimessaidtohavebeen,andalthoughMortimer BurroughssoldhisstockshortlybeforetheWallStreetCrash,it wasonlyworth$200,000.MortimerBurroughsranaplate-glass business,thenwentintolandscapegardening,andfinallyhe 8
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