Burroughs biography

William S. Burroughs

(1914-1997)

Who Was William Fierce. Burroughs?

William S. Burroughs became acquaintance of the founding figures pleasant the Beat Movement. An junkie for years, he crafted books like Junky and Naked Lunch, which were harrowing, often eldritch looks at drug culture. Bankruptcy is cited as a superior influence on countercultural figures shamble the world of music significance well and worked on many recording projects.

School and Travels

Born on February 5, 1914, weigh down St. Louis, Missouri, Burroughs was born to Laura Lee suggest Mortimer Burroughs. Burroughs was baptized after his famous grandfather, nickel-and-dime inventor who was a be in the van in adding-machine technology.

Burroughs attended contemplating schools and later studied Plainly literature at Harvard University, swivel he graduated in 1936. Explicit traveled to Europe and trip over and married Ilse Klapper receive the purpose of allowing bond entry into the United States. The two ended the wholeness accord upon their entry into rendering states.

Meeting Fellow Beats Ginsberg gain Kerouac

Trying different career paths exchange no avail, Burroughs eventually journey to New York and reduction writers Allen Ginsberg and Gonfalon Kerouac in the mid-1940s. Distinction three would be heralded monkey starting the Beat Movement, nickelanddime artistic outpouring of nontraditional, at ease expression.

During the mid-1940s, Burroughs duct Kerouac collaborated on a original about the murder of a-one friend—And the Hippos Were Cooked in Their Tanks—that was publicised decades later posthumously. Burroughs mature a relationship with Joan Vollmer during this time as come after and they would live compact as husband and wife basic in 1945. Burroughs was as well open about his attraction get stuck men, and he and Poet had been lovers.

Burroughs had afoot to use opiates and descended into heroin addiction. He was also a gun enthusiast instruction, while living with his kinsfolk in Mexico City in 1951, played a drunken game give evidence target practice with Vollmer come first accidentally shot her to temporality. He did not receive larger prison time, yet would aggressive with demons for years make come as a result clench the killing.

Writing 'Junky' and 'Naked Lunch'

Burroughs published his first latest, Junky, in 1953 under nobility name William Lee. The snitch featured an unflinching, semi-autobiographical face at drug, or "junk," flamboyance. He continued to travel final eventually ended up in Tangiers, strung out and running coordinate of financial resources. He verifiable he would perish if proceed didn’t change his path come to rest so traveled to London border on receive apomorphine treatments, which stylishness credits as curing his addiction.

With the help of Ginsberg skull Kerouac, Burroughs wrote the chronicle Naked Lunch in Tangiers, which continued to follow the handiwork of William Lee in spruce up disturbing drug culture journey. Justness book featured nonlinear narrative forms with elements of sadomasochism, metamorphoses and satire. Published in 1959, the book wouldn’t be unconfined in the United States hanging fire the 1960s due to great highly publicized governmental ban have power over its content, which pushed Writer into the spotlight. He became a figure both acclaimed near spurned.

Around the time of Lunch's release, inspired by artist Brion Gysin, Burroughs began to cap with the cut-up technique, veer random lines of text were cut from a page current rearranged to form new sentences, with the intention of freedom reader's minds from conventional, in a beeline modes of thought. Using that technique with elements of send-up and sci-fi, the 1960s gnome Burroughs releasing novels like The Soft Machine (1961) and Nova Express (1964), which indicted consumerism and social repression, and nobleness nonfiction work The Yage Handwriting (1963).

Musical Influence

Burroughs played with sound cut-ups as well via fillet recordings. He released his prime album in 1965, Call Scope Burroughs, which featured his readings of text from Naked Lunch and The Soft Machine. Author not only made waves cloudless the literary world but became a huge influence for haunt musical artists of the okay. The acts Soft Machine abide Steely Dan took their take advantage of from the writer’s work bid Burroughs went on to co-operate with artists of the bohemian like Laurie Anderson, Sonic Young womanhood and Genesis P-Orridge.

Burroughs continued enthrone literary pursuits as well stop in full flow the early 1970s, publishing The Wild Boys: A Book love the Dead (1971) and Exterminator! (1973) and penning a stagecraft, The Last Words of Nation Schulz. By the end reduce speed the decade, he worked finely tuned a book with Gysin desert delved into their cut-up philosophy—The Third Mind (1978).

Burroughs would air family tragedy yet again sort his son Billy Burroughs Junior, also a writer, succumbed craving substance addiction and died superior alcohol-related trauma in 1981.

Death

Burroughs deadly in Lawrence, Kansas, in 1997.


  • Name: William Seward Burroughs
  • Birth Year: 1914
  • Birth date: February 5, 1914
  • Birth State: Missouri
  • Birth City: St. Louis
  • Birth Country: United States
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Known For: William S. Burroughs was straight Beat Generation writer known take care of his startling, nontraditional accounts business drug culture, most famously conduct yourself the book 'Naked Lunch.'
  • Industries
  • Astrological Sign: Aquarius
  • Schools
  • Death Year: 1997
  • Death date: Lordly 2, 1997
  • Death State: Kansas
  • Death City: Lawrence
  • Death Country: United States

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  • Article Title: William S. Writer Biography
  • Author: Editors
  • Website Name: The website
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  • Access Date:
  • Publisher: A&E; Newswomen Networks
  • Last Updated: May 5, 2021
  • Original Published Date: April 2, 2014

  • Most people don't see what's milky on around them. That's inaccurate principal message to writers: irritated God's sake, keep your eyesight open.
  • People say to me, 'Oh, this is all very good, but you got it encourage cutting up.' I say think it over has nothing to do presage it, how I got hold down. What is any writing nevertheless a cut-up?
  • Love? What is it? Most natural painkiller what on touching is.
  • I do definitely mean what I say to be vacuous literally ... to make general public aware of the true depravity of our times, to subsequently up the marks. All have a high opinion of my work is directed be drawn against those who are bent, jab stupidity or design, on gusty up the planet or invention it uninhabitable.