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.

Late life

By late 1980s, Burroughs had become a counterculture giant and entered collaborations with many younger musicians and filmmakers who had been influenced by his work. He guested on albums by performers ranging from Bill Laswell's Material and Laurie Anderson to Ministry, and in Gus Van Sant's 1989 film Drugstore Cowboy, playing a character largely based on himself.

Related Topics:
1980s - Bill Laswell - Laurie Anderson - Ministry - Gus Van Sant - 1989 - Drugstore Cowboy

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1990, he released the spoken word album Dead City Radio, with musical back-up from producers Hal Willner and Nelson Lyon, and alternative rock band Sonic Youth.

Related Topics:
1990 - Dead City Radio - Hal Willner - Nelson Lyon - Alternative rock - Sonic Youth

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He also collaborated with director Robert Wilson and musician Tom Waits to create The Black Rider, a play which opened at the Thalia Theatre in Hamburg in 1990, to critical acclaim, and was later performed all over Europe and the U.S.

Related Topics:
Robert Wilson - Tom Waits - The Black Rider - Hamburg - 1990

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1991, with Burroughs? sanction, director David Cronenberg took on the seemingly impossible task of adapting Naked Lunch into a full-length feature film. Cronenberg said that a literal adaptation would "be four hours long, cost $400 million, and be banned in every country on Earth" so he combined elements of the original novel, elements of The Ticket That Exploded, and semi-biographical material regarding Burroughs himself. The film opened to critical acclaim.

Related Topics:
1991 - David Cronenberg - Naked Lunch - The Ticket That Exploded

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Through the 1990s, Burroughs produced spoken word recordings of his written material, including collaborations with R.E.M. on an alternate version of "Star Me Kitten" (which was included on the B-sides disc of the band's greatest hits album), with Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain on The Priest They Call Him (1993) and the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy on Spare Ass Annie and Other Tales (1996).

Related Topics:
1990s - Spoken word - R.E.M. - Nirvana - Kurt Cobain - The Priest They Call Him - 1993 - Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy - Spare Ass Annie and Other Tales - 1996

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Burroughs lived in a small two-bedroom red cottage in Lawrence, Kansas throughout much of his later life. He also practiced hobbies including reading science fiction and collecting handguns. He also took care of several cats. Burroughs had dabbled in painting and collage earlier, but late in his life took up the practice in earnest, producing many works via various methods: "His abstract painting is best characterized as a kind of expressive automatism, where calligraphic gestures are merged with experimental effects in the production of meditative, surrealist 'terrain vagues' or 'mindscapes.'" http://www.spress.de/author/burroughs/visart/default/page.htm Burroughs's favorite tools of artistic expression were a canvas, a can of paint suspended in front of it, and a shotgun. Once he fired the shotgun at the paint container, Burroughs could not control how the paint appeared on the canvas; this appealed to his love of random factors. These paint-splattered surfaces were sometimes left alone, but more often Burroughs would add to them, using sketches, collage or paint and stencils. After several successful art gallery shows, his paintings could sell for up to $3000 each. Burroughs focused more and more energy towards painting, and less towards writing.

Related Topics:
Cottage - Lawrence - Kansas - Handgun - Cat - Painting - Collage - Random - Stencil

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Burroughs died in Lawrence, at 6:50 p.m. on August 2, 1997 from the complications of the previous day's heart attack. A few months after his death, a collection of writings spanning his entire career, Word Virus, was published; Burroughs had approved the compilation prior to his death. Several years later, a collection of journal entries written during the final months of Burrough's life were published as the book Last Words.

Related Topics:
August 2 - 1997 - Heart attack

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~