William S. Burroughs  

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

(Difference between revisions)
Jump to: navigation, search
Revision as of 13:26, 31 December 2013
Jahsonic (Talk | contribs)

← Previous diff
Revision as of 15:52, 4 February 2014
Jahsonic (Talk | contribs)

Next diff →
Line 3: Line 3:
|} |}
{{Template}} {{Template}}
-'''William Burroughs''' ([[February 5]] [[1914]] - [[August 2]], [[1997]]), also known as '''William S. Burroughs''', was an [[American novelist]], [[essayist]], [[social critic]], [[painter]] and [[spoken word]] performer. Much of Burroughs' work is [[semi-autobiographical]], drawn from his [[experience]]s as an [[heroin addict]], a condition that marked the last fifty years of his life. He was a primary member of the [[Beat Generation]], an [[avant-garde]] author who affected [[popular culture]] as well as [[literature]].+ 
 +'''William Seward Burroughs II''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ʌr|oʊ|z}}; also known by his [[pen name]] '''William Lee'''; {{birth date|mf=yes|1914|2|5}} – {{death date|mf=yes|1997|8|2}}) was an American novelist, short story writer, [[essayist]], [[painting|painter]], and [[spoken word]] performer. A primary figure of the [[Beat Generation]] and a major [[Postmodern literature|postmodernist]] author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th century". His influence is considered to have affected a range of popular culture as well as literature. Burroughs wrote 18 novels and novellas, six collections of short stories and four collections of essays. Five books have been published of his interviews and correspondences. He also collaborated on projects and recordings with numerous performers and musicians, and made many appearances in films.
 + 
 +He was born to a wealthy family in [[St. Louis, Missouri]], grandson of the inventor and founder of the [[Burroughs Corporation]], [[William Seward Burroughs I]], and nephew of public relations manager [[Ivy Lee]]. Burroughs began writing essays and journals in early adolescence. He left home in 1932 to attend [[Harvard University]], studied English, and [[anthropology]] as a postgraduate, and later attended medical school in Vienna. After being turned down by the [[Office of Strategic Services]] and [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] in 1942 to serve in World War II, he dropped out and became afflicted with the drug addiction that affected him for the rest of his life, while working a variety of jobs. In 1943 while living in New York City, he befriended [[Allen Ginsberg]] and [[Jack Kerouac]], the mutually influential foundation of what became the countercultural movement of the Beat Generation.
 + 
 +Much of Burroughs's work is semi-autobiographical, primarily drawn from his experiences as a [[heroin]] addict, as he lived throughout [[Mexico City]], [[London]], [[Paris]], [[Berlin]], the South American [[Amazon Rainforest|Amazon]] and [[Tangier]] in [[Morocco]]. Finding success with his confessional first novel, ''[[Junkie (novel)|Junkie]]'' (1953), Burroughs is perhaps best known for his third novel ''[[Naked Lunch]]'' (1959), a controversy-fraught work that underwent a court case under the U.S. [[Sodomy laws in the United States|sodomy laws]]. With [[Brion Gysin]], he also popularized the literary [[cut-up technique]] in works such as [[The Nova Trilogy]] (1961–64). In 1983, Burroughs was elected to the [[American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters]], and in 1984 was awarded the [[Ordre des Arts et des Lettres]] by France. Jack Kerouac called Burroughs the "greatest [[Satire|satirical]] writer since [[Jonathan Swift]]", a reputation he owes to his "lifelong subversion" of the moral, political and economic systems of modern American society, articulated in often darkly humorous [[sardonicism]]. [[J. G. Ballard]] considered Burroughs to be "the most important writer to emerge since the Second World War", while [[Norman Mailer]] declared him "the only American writer who may be conceivably possessed by genius".
 + 
 +Burroughs had one child, [[William S. Burroughs, Jr.|William Seward Burroughs III]] (1947–1981), with his second wife [[Joan Vollmer]]. Vollmer died in 1951 in Mexico City. Burroughs was convicted of manslaughter in Vollmer's death, an event that deeply permeated all of his writings. Burroughs died at his home in [[Lawrence, Kansas]], after suffering a [[heart attack]] in 1997.
 + 
 +==Early life and education==
 +Burroughs was born in 1914, the younger of two sons born to Mortimer Perry Burroughs (June 16, 1885 – January 5, 1965) and Laura Hammon Lee (August 5, 1888 – October 20, 1970). The Burroughses were a prominent family of [[English American|English ancestry]] in [[St. Louis, Missouri]]. His grandfather, [[William Seward Burroughs I]], founded the Burroughs Adding Machine company, which evolved into the [[Burroughs Corporation]]. Burroughs' mother, Laura Hammon Lee, was the daughter of a minister whose family claimed to be related to [[Robert E. Lee]]. His maternal uncle, [[Ivy Lee]], was an advertising pioneer later employed as a publicist for the Rockefellers. His father ran an antique and gift shop, Cobblestone Gardens; first in St. Louis, then in [[Palm Beach, Florida]].
 + 
 +As a boy, Burroughs lived on Pershing Ave. in St. Louis's [[Central West End, St. Louis|Central West End]]. He attended [[John Burroughs School]] in St. Louis where his first published essay, "Personal Magnetism", was printed in the ''John Burroughs Review'' in 1929. He then attended the [[Los Alamos Ranch School]] in New Mexico, which was stressful for him. The school was a [[boarding school]] for the wealthy, "where the spindly sons of the rich could be transformed into manly specimens". Burroughs kept [[diary|journals]] documenting an erotic attachment to another boy. According to his own account, he destroyed these later, ashamed of their content. Due to the repressive context where he grew up, and from which he fled, that is, a "family where displays of affection were considered embarrassing", he kept his sexual orientation concealed well into adulthood, when he became a well known homosexual writer after the publication of ''Naked Lunch'' in 1959. Some {{Who| date=November 2011}} say that he was expelled from Los Alamos after taking [[chloral hydrate]] in [[Santa Fe, New Mexico|Santa Fe]] with a fellow student. Yet, according to his own account, he left voluntarily: "During the Easter vacation of my second year I persuaded my family to let me stay in St. Louis."
==Bibliography== ==Bibliography==
===Novels and other long fiction=== ===Novels and other long fiction===

Revision as of 15:52, 4 February 2014

"'Nihilism, unrelieved despair and negation, misanthropy, pessimism' - very much the same set of clichés that greeted Louis-Ferdinand Celine's Journey to the End of the Night, which to my mind is a very funny book, in a picaresque tradition stretching back to Petronius and to The Unfortunate Traveller by Thomas Nashe. I have always seen my own work in the light of the picaresque - a series of adventures and misadventures, horrific and comic, encountered by an antihero." --William S. Burroughs, William S. Burroughs At the Front: Critical Reception, 1959 - 1989

Related e

Wikipedia
Wiktionary
Shop


Featured:

William Seward Burroughs II (Template:IPAc-en; also known by his pen name William Lee; Template:Birth dateTemplate:Death date) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, painter, and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th century". His influence is considered to have affected a range of popular culture as well as literature. Burroughs wrote 18 novels and novellas, six collections of short stories and four collections of essays. Five books have been published of his interviews and correspondences. He also collaborated on projects and recordings with numerous performers and musicians, and made many appearances in films.

He was born to a wealthy family in St. Louis, Missouri, grandson of the inventor and founder of the Burroughs Corporation, William Seward Burroughs I, and nephew of public relations manager Ivy Lee. Burroughs began writing essays and journals in early adolescence. He left home in 1932 to attend Harvard University, studied English, and anthropology as a postgraduate, and later attended medical school in Vienna. After being turned down by the Office of Strategic Services and U.S. Navy in 1942 to serve in World War II, he dropped out and became afflicted with the drug addiction that affected him for the rest of his life, while working a variety of jobs. In 1943 while living in New York City, he befriended Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, the mutually influential foundation of what became the countercultural movement of the Beat Generation.

Much of Burroughs's work is semi-autobiographical, primarily drawn from his experiences as a heroin addict, as he lived throughout Mexico City, London, Paris, Berlin, the South American Amazon and Tangier in Morocco. Finding success with his confessional first novel, Junkie (1953), Burroughs is perhaps best known for his third novel Naked Lunch (1959), a controversy-fraught work that underwent a court case under the U.S. sodomy laws. With Brion Gysin, he also popularized the literary cut-up technique in works such as The Nova Trilogy (1961–64). In 1983, Burroughs was elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and in 1984 was awarded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by France. Jack Kerouac called Burroughs the "greatest satirical writer since Jonathan Swift", a reputation he owes to his "lifelong subversion" of the moral, political and economic systems of modern American society, articulated in often darkly humorous sardonicism. J. G. Ballard considered Burroughs to be "the most important writer to emerge since the Second World War", while Norman Mailer declared him "the only American writer who may be conceivably possessed by genius".

Burroughs had one child, William Seward Burroughs III (1947–1981), with his second wife Joan Vollmer. Vollmer died in 1951 in Mexico City. Burroughs was convicted of manslaughter in Vollmer's death, an event that deeply permeated all of his writings. Burroughs died at his home in Lawrence, Kansas, after suffering a heart attack in 1997.

Contents

Early life and education

Burroughs was born in 1914, the younger of two sons born to Mortimer Perry Burroughs (June 16, 1885 – January 5, 1965) and Laura Hammon Lee (August 5, 1888 – October 20, 1970). The Burroughses were a prominent family of English ancestry in St. Louis, Missouri. His grandfather, William Seward Burroughs I, founded the Burroughs Adding Machine company, which evolved into the Burroughs Corporation. Burroughs' mother, Laura Hammon Lee, was the daughter of a minister whose family claimed to be related to Robert E. Lee. His maternal uncle, Ivy Lee, was an advertising pioneer later employed as a publicist for the Rockefellers. His father ran an antique and gift shop, Cobblestone Gardens; first in St. Louis, then in Palm Beach, Florida.

As a boy, Burroughs lived on Pershing Ave. in St. Louis's Central West End. He attended John Burroughs School in St. Louis where his first published essay, "Personal Magnetism", was printed in the John Burroughs Review in 1929. He then attended the Los Alamos Ranch School in New Mexico, which was stressful for him. The school was a boarding school for the wealthy, "where the spindly sons of the rich could be transformed into manly specimens". Burroughs kept journals documenting an erotic attachment to another boy. According to his own account, he destroyed these later, ashamed of their content. Due to the repressive context where he grew up, and from which he fled, that is, a "family where displays of affection were considered embarrassing", he kept his sexual orientation concealed well into adulthood, when he became a well known homosexual writer after the publication of Naked Lunch in 1959. Some Template:Who say that he was expelled from Los Alamos after taking chloral hydrate in Santa Fe with a fellow student. Yet, according to his own account, he left voluntarily: "During the Easter vacation of my second year I persuaded my family to let me stay in St. Louis."

Bibliography

Novels and other long fiction

Non-fiction

Stories and novellas

Collections

Collaborations

Film collaborations

The Final Academy - a 1982 tour in Britain, organized by David Dawson, Roger Ely and Genesis P-Orridge. The project was based on, featuring works of and was inspired by William S Burroughs. A DVD, 'The Final Academy Documents" is a DVD of edited highlights from the tour, including Burroughs' public appearance in 1982 and reading from his work at Manchester's infamous The Haçienda, a performance by John Giorno and includes the experimental film collaborations with Anthony Balch, Brion Gysin, and others - ‘Towers Open Fire' and ‘Ghosts at No. 9'. Further related information on these films mentioned above and other works of Burroughs' can be found here and here and also here on 3 various UbuWeb external links.

This Cherry Red Records DVD is from 2002 here is a link to this DVDs info page

Many of Burroughs' works were later republished with revisions made by the author, and/or censored material restored. Both Junkie/Junky and Naked Lunch were published in "restored" editions following Burroughs's death. An expanded edition of Yage Letters entitled Yage Letters Redux was published in April 2006.

Burroughs also played a cameo part in the motion picture Drugstore Cowboy. He also collaborated on the documentary Words of Advice: William S. Burroughs On the Road released in 2007.

Recordings (partial list)

Band names

Burroughs's work has inspired the name of several musical groups over the years. The most widely known of these is Steely Dan, a group named after a dildo in Naked Lunch. Also from Naked Lunch came the name The Mugwumps. The band Soft Machine took its name from the Burroughs novel of the same name, while alt-country band Clem Snide is named for a Burroughs character. The band The Soft Boys took its name from Burroughs' novels The Soft Machine and The Wild Boys. Proto-punk band Dead Fingers Talk from Hull, England, took their name from the novel of the same name, and their only album was titled Storm the Reality Studios, after a quote from Nova Express.

See also




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "William S. Burroughs" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

Personal tools