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Adnan_le_Terrible
* Dog in the Sand *
France
1973 Posts |
 Posted - 01/25/2004 : 13:49:11
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William S. Burroughs is definitely one of my favorite writers. Near the end of his life, he became a sub-culture icon of the underground, making records with Sonic Youth, Kurdt Cobain, etc. I think that he kind of lost his credibility with these performances. Yet he became accessible to a wider audience (including myself).
Today, he is more famous for his life (having shot his wife dead while playing William Tell, having been a morphine addict in a homosexual brothel of Tangier in the 50s) than for his writings. Most of people only mention his "experimental" novels while focusing on his life.
Well, I don't consider him as "experimental". I don't study litterature and yet I enjoyed some of his books like the Naked Lunch(turned into a movie by Cronenberg) or the Cities of the Red Night, which is very narrative and easy to read, actually. Some excerpts of his masterpiece, the Naked Lunch, became classics, like the story of the guy who taught his asshole to speak.
Some of his novels, however, like the Soft Machine (which gave its name to the band), are more difficult to read.
Well, I don't know if any of you have read any of these books, but I invite you to do so. You don't need to be a drug addict or a homosexual or even be interested in these topics to appreciate the power of the paranormal imagination of William Seward Burroughs.
If you did, tell me what you thought about it, as I am a big fan (I even did a university research work on Burroughs).
He says "c'est la vie" and takes another dive. |
Edited by - Adnan_le_Terrible on 01/25/2004 13:50:28 |
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interloper
= Cult of Ray =
440 Posts |
Posted - 01/25/2004 : 14:11:59
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Real Genius. Regardless of what he's writing about, his grasp on language is so far reaching, that most of us can't really even understand just how good he was. Heroin or no heroin, the guy was so intelligent, it's truly frightening.
Hand held shower nozzles are the demon enemy of the patriarch and should be destroyed. |
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apl4eris
~ Abstract Brain ~
USA
4800 Posts |
Posted - 01/25/2004 : 14:27:22
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"Language is a virus"
If you love Burroughs, you should check out Laurie Anderson as well. They used to do some work together. I've read several of his books - I'll try to gather my thoughts and respond later.
 Today, we're gonna learn poodles how to fly. |
Edited by - apl4eris on 01/25/2004 14:28:58 |
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Adnan_le_Terrible
* Dog in the Sand *
France
1973 Posts |
Posted - 01/25/2004 : 14:59:38
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Who is Laurie Anderson? The only thing I googled for her is a sort of a multimedia project based on Moby Dick (which seems pretty interesting, actually).
what have I become, my Swedish friend? / everyone one I know goes away in the end |
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apl4eris
~ Abstract Brain ~
USA
4800 Posts |
Posted - 01/25/2004 : 15:16:03
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Yeah - that is her. You may want to try to locate "Home of the Brave" and "United States Live" if they are available to rent where you are - she has a fairly large international following. She has tried performing in several languages - one of which is Japanese. She discovered after a while that she was speaking Japanese with a stutter, because the man on the the training tapes had a stutter.
I think she is still in Europe right now, either touring through Italy still or with Lou Reed (they are together). She is a performance artist/musician/artist. Her main site (not run by her) is rather lousy, but there are a couple of really good fan sites out there. I have seen her twice, and her performances are incredible. She had a hit in the eighties called "O Superman". I think you might really enjoy her work, judging by your interests.
There is a fanclub on yahoo that has some info on her as well, and very nice, helpful members: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laurieandersonclub/ (I am also a member there)
Some interesting bio info, and descriptions of some of her performances:
http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/anderson/
"Homepage of the Brave" (fansite)
http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~jimmyd/laurie-anderson/
some site I've never seen before, but it mentions some of the work she did w/Burroughs as well:
http://www.hipsurgerymusic.com/AndersonLaurie/
if you want any other info about her, just let me know.
Today, we're gonna learn poodles how to fly. |
Edited by - apl4eris on 01/25/2004 15:19:53 |
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Adnan_le_Terrible
* Dog in the Sand *
France
1973 Posts |
Posted - 01/25/2004 : 15:17:34
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thx eris
what have I become, my Swedish friend? / everyone one I know goes away in the end |
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apl4eris
~ Abstract Brain ~
USA
4800 Posts |
Posted - 01/25/2004 : 15:20:36
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Sure!
Today, we're gonna learn poodles how to fly. |
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Jayhawk
- FB Fan -
80 Posts |
Posted - 01/25/2004 : 15:55:22
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| Burroughs was a genius. One of my friends actually rented his old house for a couple of years after he died. Needless to say, it was pretty cool to go over there. He had a little cemetary out in his yard for his cats. |
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GypsyDeath
Zapped Profile
3575 Posts |
Posted - 01/25/2004 : 16:50:36
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Genius, if a little eccentric. But then again, I dont think he was eccentric. I think that what all genius are like. I mean, they just understand aand percieve the world differently, perhaps in a way which we will never grasp, and there fore amybe we are the eccentric ones?
Have you read any WIll Self? He is haevily influenced by william burroughs. He mentions him repeatedly in 'Junk MAil' a collection of his writing re: drugs and addiction.
Books id recommend - great apes, how the dead live, actually, i recommend all of them.!!
_________________________
Im the only one who laughs |
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jimmy
= Cult of Ray =
USA
876 Posts |
Posted - 01/25/2004 : 17:11:29
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| Didn't know really who he was till after I saw "Drugstore Cowboy"- such a good movie, I could watch it all day. |
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GoddessTheory
= Cult of Ray =
USA
675 Posts |
Posted - 01/25/2004 : 17:43:35
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quote:
Originally posted by Adnan_le_Terrible
Who is Laurie Anderson? The only thing I googled for her is a sort of a multimedia project based on Moby Dick (which seems pretty interesting, actually).
what have I become, my Swedish friend? / everyone one I know goes away in the end
Puppet Hotel. |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 01/25/2004 : 18:18:25
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i don't know how you define genius, but i think Interloper puts it well. his grasp on language was incredible. he truly pushed the envelope of literature, and managed to impose his very particular style and personality while doing so.
we read his "Nova Trilogy" (aka. "the Cut-Up trilogy") in this very theroy-laden Lit class i took called "Literary Posthumanisms".. good stuff. The Soft Machine, The Ticket That Exploded and Nova Express. it's difficult to get into at first, but once you plow your way through a bit of it, you start to grasp the poetry of his language. apl4eris' "language is a virus" quote is a central theme in all his work, if there is one. i think if you wanted to put it in a nutshell, his work was trying to break free from the contraints of conventional language (and, by extension, logic), on a very radical, fundamental level. like surrealism.. juxtaposing random, unrelatd things in an attempt to subvert conventional perception and create new associations. like a lot of those guys, his work was trying to break free of convention, but he took it a step further by attempting to create his own language, while also destroying it.
either that or he was just a crazy junkie. |
Edited by - floop on 01/25/2004 18:31:02 |
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SpudBoy
= Cult of Ray =
Equatorial Guinea
649 Posts |
Posted - 01/25/2004 : 19:47:51
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Personally, I don't think the two are mutually exclusive.
 I looked for a cult to join, then decided to just play "Sink". Hey! I sank WallaWalla Washington! |
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mcmikey
= Cult of Ray =
799 Posts |
Posted - 01/26/2004 : 07:03:34
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I think he was a little of both. A raving brilliant junkie lunatic
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mikey wuz here |
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gracie
= Cult of Ray =
United Kingdom
573 Posts |
Posted - 01/26/2004 : 10:19:06
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| Hipster junkie, no doubt about it! |
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Adnan_le_Terrible
* Dog in the Sand *
France
1973 Posts |
Posted - 01/26/2004 : 12:39:18
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quote:
Originally posted by gracie
Hipster junkie, no doubt about it!
Mmm Gracie, I appreciate your integrity. What are you doing tonight?
what have I become, my Swedish friend? / everyone one I know goes away in the end |
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dougit
- FB Fan -
87 Posts |
Posted - 01/28/2004 : 16:58:56
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junkie with rich friends and a pretty rich family.
sometimes he was accidentally genius...me thinks he was driven by the
angst in his pants...his sparks of genius required massive amounts of psychoactives, for sure. |
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apl4eris
~ Abstract Brain ~
USA
4800 Posts |
Posted - 01/28/2004 : 19:50:25
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So did Edgar Allan Poe's (and countless others), but I won't knock 'em for bein high on the Opium. If sobriety is a marker for creative genius, that leaves the field pretty barren, I'm afraid.  I don't agree that having money makes a difference in whether someone is "genius" or just has "angst in their pants".
"Wir müssen wissen. Wir werden wissen." |
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Adnan_le_Terrible
* Dog in the Sand *
France
1973 Posts |
Posted - 01/29/2004 : 03:53:48
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And I don't think you can become a talented writer by taking drugs, otherwise so many people would be great artists...
I think that Burroughs would probably have become a great writer without his drug addiction, though he would write completely different stuff.
I joined the three kitties club / And now I can participate to a secret forum with Charles. |
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