I don't think it is. Also, while this site is not a bio, it really functions as the most accurate and informative
repository that exists. That probably goes without saying.
repository that exists. That probably goes without saying.
Bukfan
"The law is wrong; I am right"
Thanks a lot, Roni! I have´nt seen any of them before except for two or three. That's some great Burroughs photo book you´ve got.
I´ve just ordered it from Amazon (Barry Miles: "Call Me Burroughs") and judging from the reviews in various papers and on Amazon, and from the many preview pages on Amazon, it's a real treat. It's a brick of a book too, 736 pages. I see it was released on Jan. 28. What a nice way to celebrate Burroughs´ 100th birthday (Feb.5). I´ll bet we´ll see many books, etc. on Burroughs this year.
I've always loved the Red Night trilogy. I found the Western Lands to be a little slow and dry, but I think both Cities and Dead Roads show a very developed, mature side to Burroughs.
Bukfan
"The law is wrong; I am right"
I stumbled over a site about the Burroughs/Gysin "Dream Machine" for meditation that explains how it works (something about alfa-beta-theta waves), but not only that, it also links to a page on the site with an online dream machine you can watch and use for meditation. It turns the site into a blinking screen using the right alfa-beta-theta waves. You can even decide the speed and which colors you want to use. Does it work? I have´nt the faintest idea, but it might be worth trying out.
Here's the link to the site:
http://www.bluestwave.com/toolbox_dreammachine.php
And here's the link to the dream machine:
http://www.bluestwave.com/tools/dreammachine.html
Here's the link to the site:
http://www.bluestwave.com/toolbox_dreammachine.php
And here's the link to the dream machine:
http://www.bluestwave.com/tools/dreammachine.html
I saw a dream machine at an exhibition in Namur (BE). Didn't do anything for me but quite fun.... Again that was a replica. Perhaps I needed one with some of that old Gysin magic dust on it.
Digney in Burnaby
donkeys live a long time
Documentary on the Dream Machine:
Bukfan
"The law is wrong; I am right"
I found this interesting 3-page article on Burroughs:
http://reason.com/archives/2014/06/04/the-sultan-of-sewers
http://reason.com/archives/2014/06/04/the-sultan-of-sewers
Maybe stop posting when you're drinking, because you're an ugly drunk. And you are shitting all over the forum and while I have no problem with your opinion, you're spouting it like an asshole, and I have a problem with assholes.
mjp
Founding member
Well, you posted a picture of an actual shit in another thread - which I deleted - and I'd say that constitutes shitting on a forum.
Bukfan
"The law is wrong; I am right"
Full of horse manure? That's what I call a well researched sholarly opinion one can hardly argue against. :rolleyes:
What a great idea to go to a thread about Burroughs and write the Beats were full of horse manure. If I did´nt know any better I would think it was meant as a provocation. How about going to a forum about The Beatles and say the same thing, but that would be trolling, right?
What a great idea to go to a thread about Burroughs and write the Beats were full of horse manure. If I did´nt know any better I would think it was meant as a provocation. How about going to a forum about The Beatles and say the same thing, but that would be trolling, right?
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The video above reminds me of a passage in the Bukowski biography by Howard Sounes:
Of the beat writers only William Burroughs had given him the cold shoulder, snubbing him at a reading, which was ironic because Burroughs was the only one he admired. Bukowski muttered about going outside and fighting him.
'I could push him over with one punch,' he told Harold Norse, who knew them both.
'Yeah, but you'd be dead,' said Norse. 'He'd shoot you.'
Of the beat writers only William Burroughs had given him the cold shoulder, snubbing him at a reading, which was ironic because Burroughs was the only one he admired. Bukowski muttered about going outside and fighting him.
'I could push him over with one punch,' he told Harold Norse, who knew them both.
'Yeah, but you'd be dead,' said Norse. 'He'd shoot you.'
mjp
Founding member
Next best thing: http://www.netliberty.net/dreamachine.html
I couldn't get into 'Naked Lunch', but love 'Junky' and 'Yage Letters'. The best way to experience 'Junky', for me, is listening to the man himself read it out. His voice is the only voice for reading 'Junky'. Pure mesmerism.
You guys probably know about this one already, but here's a great biography:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/William-S-Burroughs-Barry-Miles/dp/0297867253/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1409748967&sr=1-1&keywords=william s burroughs barry miles
Bukfan
"The law is wrong; I am right"
Naked Lunch is pretty weird and it's not exactly a novel, but a collection of stories which are not connected to each other. A few of them are funny and others not so much.
I like "Junky" and "Interzone". They're both written in straight narrative and easy to read.
The new Burroughs biography by Barry Miles is pretty good and very detailed. It's a must for serious fans of Burroughs and even if you're not a fan it's still very entertaining.
I like "Junky" and "Interzone". They're both written in straight narrative and easy to read.
The new Burroughs biography by Barry Miles is pretty good and very detailed. It's a must for serious fans of Burroughs and even if you're not a fan it's still very entertaining.
Your response reminded me of something Burroughs said about 'Naked Lunch' - that you can dip into it at any stage in the book, that it's not intentionally written to be read from cover to cover. Interesting approach.
I never thought much of his cut-ups being published into books, but I do find the technique useful for developing creative writing.
I never thought much of his cut-ups being published into books, but I do find the technique useful for developing creative writing.
Bukfan
"The law is wrong; I am right"
Right, I´ve read the bit about "you can dip into it at any stage in the book" too. Instead of publishing it as a novel, it should have been published as a collection of stories, I think. No wonder, people find it difficult to read if they think it's a novel since there's no connection between the chapters .
I never cared for his cut-up texts. Actually, I find it a bit silly to cut and paste more or less random words together. It's an interesting experiment, but the result is hardly a new work of literature.
You could say it's a way of recycling other people's words and I understand recycling is very popular nowadays. :p
I never cared for his cut-up texts. Actually, I find it a bit silly to cut and paste more or less random words together. It's an interesting experiment, but the result is hardly a new work of literature.
You could say it's a way of recycling other people's words and I understand recycling is very popular nowadays. :p
PhillyDave
“The essential doesn't change.” Beckett
I read somewhere that the band Wilco tried something in that tradition when working on the lyrics for many of the songs that ended up on their "Summerteeth" record. They took a typewriter and covered the sheet of paper so you could only read the line you were typing. Then the next person would jump in and write their line, etc. In order to make any kind of sense or make any of the lyrics interesting at all they then edited the "lyrics". Just an experiment, but a similarly inspired idea. Good record of folk-rock/pop-rock.
mjp
Founding member
Nothing says we just don't care anymore like that does.
Tom, the Priest:
I wonder if you Burroughs fans know that he featured in a spooky 1995 PC/Mac adventure game (and did a great job too).
I've played The Dark Eye almost ten years ago so I don't remember all the things he did there, but his reading of Poe's The Mask of the Red Death still lingers in my memory.
I've played The Dark Eye almost ten years ago so I don't remember all the things he did there, but his reading of Poe's The Mask of the Red Death still lingers in my memory.
Skygazer
And in the end...
Nice video Johannes, but Burroughs is wrong about Thomas De Quincey's Confessions of an English Opium Eater (1821) he doesn't promote opiates as beneficial to health, he describes a tortuous descent into addiction with it, both physical and mental. Most of the Romantic Poets also experimented with it - not illegal then. Yes he lived quite a long time, but his addiction overshadowed it, many times.
I don't know if anyone else noticed this, but after rereading Junky and Queer it seems pretty obvious that Burroughs was a total misanthrope. It's a kick reading Burroughs hate on 'fags' as subhumans even as his character repeatedly hangs around gay bars.
Bukowski looks like Mr. Rogers compared to Old Bull Lee.
Bukowski looks like Mr. Rogers compared to Old Bull Lee.
Johannes
Founding member
Yes, but Junky and Queer are literary works. The misanthropy therein must not be confused with the authors emotional and/or mental state. There is a lot of misanthropy in Burroughs and Bukowskis work, no doubt. At least, what you would commonly call "misanthropy" at first glance.
Yet you can hardly call both authors (in person, that is) raging man-haters or something like that. More than anything they seem to be disappointed and hurt individuals, not fitting into their surroundings and responding to this with their literature, almost always mixing an hilarious sense of humor with their "misanthropy", both.
The distinction fag/queer also appears in Burroughs letters. For him it obviously was the distinction between some "wimpy screeching weakling" (fag) and some "manly straighforward homosexual" (queer). At least that's how he describes it himself in a letter to Allen Ginsberg, where he refuses to be called "Fag" but prefers "Queer" for this reasons.
Yet you can hardly call both authors (in person, that is) raging man-haters or something like that. More than anything they seem to be disappointed and hurt individuals, not fitting into their surroundings and responding to this with their literature, almost always mixing an hilarious sense of humor with their "misanthropy", both.
The distinction fag/queer also appears in Burroughs letters. For him it obviously was the distinction between some "wimpy screeching weakling" (fag) and some "manly straighforward homosexual" (queer). At least that's how he describes it himself in a letter to Allen Ginsberg, where he refuses to be called "Fag" but prefers "Queer" for this reasons.
Bukfan
"The law is wrong; I am right"
True, one should distinguish between a book and its author.
As for Burroughs, he was also confused about his sexuality because in some of his letters he talks about his lust for boys while in other letters he wants to "switch to cunt" because he thinks being gay is a disease.
As for Burroughs, he was also confused about his sexuality because in some of his letters he talks about his lust for boys while in other letters he wants to "switch to cunt" because he thinks being gay is a disease.
Bukfan
"The law is wrong; I am right"
I guess it does. I think it may have to do with the kind of people he mingled with (the people in "Junky" and Allerton in "Queer" who will only have sex with Burroughs once a week to Burroughs dismay). Also, "Junky" is written very matter-of-fact-ly, almost like a report written from a distance. In such report-like books there's seldom room for feelings.
Currently reading You Can't Win and apparently it was very influential to Burroughs, to the extent he used lots of the material from it in Junkie.
Good point, 'Skygazer', I remember coming away feeling depressed after reading De Quincey's book. Quite dark, I remember.
On the Romantic poets, I'm pretty sure that Coleridge was addicted to opium through his laudanum intake.
I'll check out that game, 'Dark Eye', 'zobraks' - sounds great! Is there a site somewhere where one can listen to his reading of Poe's short story?
'You Can't Win' is a good read, endorsed by Burroughs. I also love Bukowski's endorsements of John Fante and, above everything else, Celine's brilliant work: 'Journey to the End of the Night'. If any book blew me away, it was that one!
On the Romantic poets, I'm pretty sure that Coleridge was addicted to opium through his laudanum intake.
I'll check out that game, 'Dark Eye', 'zobraks' - sounds great! Is there a site somewhere where one can listen to his reading of Poe's short story?
'You Can't Win' is a good read, endorsed by Burroughs. I also love Bukowski's endorsements of John Fante and, above everything else, Celine's brilliant work: 'Journey to the End of the Night'. If any book blew me away, it was that one!
