Conversations with William S. Burroughs

By Allen Hibbard

Book Overview

Although a rather shy, private man, William S. Burroughs gave a good many interviews during his lifetime, some in prominent publications, others in obscure forums. The interviews collected here provide an aperture into the philosophies, methods, and quirks of a man who wrote Queer, Junky, Naked Lunch, Nova Express, Cities of the Red Night, My Education, and many other works.

When he died in 1997, Burroughs was likely one of the most widely recognizable figures in contemporary American literature. His image circulated on album jackets, in Nike commercials, and in films, as though proving his notion that pictures and words are viruses, invading any receptive host, taking hold, and replicating themselves.

Not surprisingly, the topics Burroughs touches upon are wide-ranging: his relationships to the Beats, legends surrounding his personal life, drugs, gay liberation, collaboration, the cut-up technique, science fiction, politics, conspiracy theory, censorship, cats, guns, David Cronenberg's movie adaptation of Naked Lunch, shotgun art, dreams, and life in Lawrence, Kansas, where he spent his last years. From these interviews emerges a full, undiluted portrait of a writer who is difficult to capture in biography.

Speaking of the Paris Review interview Alfred Kazin calls Burroughs "an engineer of the pen, a calmly interested specialist of the new processes. When Burroughs makes philosophic and scientific claims for his disorderly collections of data, we happily recognize under the externally calm surface of the interview, the kind of inner frenzy that is his genius--and which, in all of us, his books make an appeal." Kazin's view applies as well for the other interviews in this collection.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1578061830
• ISBN13: 9781578061839
• Release Date: March 2000
• Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
• Length: 234 Pages
• Weight: 0.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.8" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Succinct Overview of Burroughs' Meeting with the Press

Readers who already own "Burroughs Live," a nearly 800+ page colllection of Burroughs interviews, may be hesitant to buy "Conversations With..." But this book is a bit more than a Readers Digest condensed version of "Live." People just starting to approach Burroughs will certainly be less intimidated by this 226-page collection, and might find it a more appropriate "port of entry." Completists will note that of the 21 interviews collected here, 10 of them do not appear in "Live." While most of these "outtakes" have material that is well-trodden in "Live" and are not essential reading, there are three very strong exceptions. Both J.E. Rivers and noted Burroughs scholar Jennie Skerl have interviews here that I would consider essential reading for anyone who studies Burroughs' work. These interviews are unique in that they are less 'personality' focused than the others, and conducted by people who are thoroughly well-read in -- and conversant with -- their subject. Why these interviews were not included in the otherwise thorough "Burroughs Live" is genuinely odd. A third piece, written by Lynn Snowden for Esquire, is more personality-driven and features David Cronenberg as well as Burroughs... Perhaps even more of Cronenberg than Burroughs. It is a less reverential piece, however, and a quite refreshing perspective after reading a great many interviewers fawning all over Burroughs.

You'll Know Burroughs

"Conversations With William S. Burroughs" might be more than most readers interested in the Beats might care to read. However, if you find the life of a writer as intriguing as his writings, you'll love this.As a student of the Beat style (particularly how Kerouac merged poets into music), I was curious to learn more about the people of the movement."Conversations With William S. Burroughs" feeds into the pretensions of Burroughs' personality. There's the obvious cross-pollinating in here, showing how Corso, Ginsberg, Ferlingetti, Kerouac all fed each other compliments. Owning a lot of the pop-philosphy which eventually ruined the Beats... discussing issues he didn't care about in 'real life'. It is hard to tell what Burroughs finds interesting, and what he really believed in.This isn't the best you'll read on Burroughs, but it is essential to get into the full look of the writer's pensive life. He seems more introspective than his counterparts, but just as politically-minded.I recommend "Conversations With William S. Burroughs."Anthony Trendl

What Could Be Better?

Who can't love a book in which WB tells all?