William S. Burroughs

William Seward Burroughs (February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American novelist, essayist, social critic and spoken word performer. Much of Burroughs' work is semi-autobiographical, drawn from his experiences as an opiate addict, which he often distored using surreal or graphic imagery, experimental structures, and a strong satirical voice. Burroughs stated that he saw all his writing as a single, vast book; indeed, the same characters and themes often reappear intermittently throughout his oeuvre.

Beginning of addiction

Burroughs lived on a monthly trust account from his parents, and this provided him little need, or desire, to earn money. He followed around friends, and lived in Chicago, Illinois before following them to New York City. In New York, he met Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac.

Related Topics:
Chicago, Illinois - New York City - Allen Ginsberg - Jack Kerouac

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In 1944, Burroughs began living with Joan Vollmer Adams in an apartment they shared with Kerouac and Edie Parker, Kerouac's first wife. Vollmer Adams was married to a GI and they had a young daughter, Julie Adams. The apartment was close to Columbia University, where Ginsberg and Kerouac were students. Around this time, Burroughs and Kerouac got into trouble with the law for failing to report a murder; this incident formed the basis of a mystery novel the two collaborated on entitled And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks which was never published (an excerpt from the manuscript would be included in the Burroughs compilation Word Virus).

Related Topics:
1944 - Joan Vollmer - Columbia University - And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks

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That same year, Burroughs began using morphine and quickly became addicted. He even eventually came to sell heroin in Greenwich Village to support his habit. Although Burroughs? most intense drug use occurred from 1944 until 1956 he would remain dependent on opiates throughout his life, despite brief periods of abstinence, and eventually died on methadone maintenance.

Related Topics:
Morphine - Greenwich Village - 1956 - Opiates - Methadone

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In the author's notes at the end of his famous novel Naked Lunch he described his (former) times with illegal substances and noted that his doctor's plan for ridding himself of a majority of them was progressing nicely.

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Addiction brought him face to face with a social class he had previously only read about. Prostitutes, thieves, subway muggers, addicted artists, and crooked vice cops became some of his closest associates, apart from Ginsberg and Kerouac. Aside from Junky, fiction depicting this period include the short story The Junky's Christmas and parts of the novel Naked Lunch. Several of the passing characters in these stories found themselves engaging in activities similar to those within his social circle.

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Vollmer also became an addict but her drug of choice was the nasal inhaled form of the amphetamine, Benzedrine. Because of her addiction and social circle, her husband immediately divorced her after returning from the war.

Related Topics:
Amphetamine - Benzedrine

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Burroughs again partnered himself with a woman in need. Although their intimate relations were seldom easy or fulfilling to Burroughs, and they never married, Vollmer would eventually become Burroughs? common law wife. Ginsberg and friends ultimately came to see that, given the times, Burroughs? sexual orientation would prevent this relationship from being content. They urged Burroughs to break-up the relationship but Burroughs protested that he never promised Vollmer a real marriage and hid nothing from her.

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