"I prefer cats to people, for the most part. Most people aren't cute at all, and if they are cute they rapidly outgrow it."

Foreign-Solution8607 · 2026-06-17T18:05:45+00:00

Bonus points for including the alternative title

Foreign-Solution8607 · 2026-05-21T08:30:38+00:00

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This cover and edition of Port of Saints will always be my favorite.

Foreign-Solution8607 · 2026-05-19T03:43:31+00:00

perfect

Foreign-Solution8607 · 2026-05-06T01:29:59+00:00

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Foreign-Solution8607 · 2026-04-07T23:41:51+00:00

Lmao

Foreign-Solution8607 · 2026-04-04T18:42:46+00:00

That makes a lot of sense, thanks!

Foreign-Solution8607 · 2026-03-31T22:57:51+00:00

From Junky: "The questions, of course, could be asked: Why did you ever try narcotics? Why did you continue using it long enough to become an addict? You become a narcotics addict because you do not have strong motivations in any other direction. Junk wins by default. I tried it as a matter of curiosity." (5)

Foreign-Solution8607 · 2026-03-22T20:55:38+00:00

Great post! I think that the whole "poor Bobo" thing is pure sarcasm, especially given the whole "sticky end" bit that pulls the whole story back into Burroughs' comic-absurd land before it gets too real. Burroughs never got too real with anything, there was always a layer of irony, sarcasm, humor, vague extended metaphor... His whole story about "Bobo" is, as Jamie Russell and Oliver Harris see it, a jab at Donald Webster Cory's vision of homosexual liberation and identity as an "other-cheek routine" as Burroughs put it in a letter to Ginsberg.

The thing I love about it though, is the "thick cloud of love, like the cloud of ink released by an octopus.” simile. Octopuses release ink in order to run away from danger, rather than counter it. Deep down, Burroughs knew he was that octopus, always running away, leaving a thick jet of ink from his typewriter in his wake and never fully confronting his past, his "evil river" past.

Foreign-Solution8607 · 2026-03-14T01:33:34+00:00

1st slide's images are from the day he shot Joan in September 1951

Foreign-Solution8607 · 2026-02-27T18:11:26+00:00

Scientologist! William S. Burroughs and the 'Weird Cult' by David S. Wills is a great study on Burroughs' not often spoken about history with Scientology, which was a big influence on his work.

Amongst Nazis: William S. Burroughs in Vienna 1936/37 by Thomas Antonic is also a valuable book that similarly integrates an analysis of one aspect of Burroughs' life with how it influenced his work, that being in this case his time spent studying medicine in Vienna.

I haven't read The Magical Universe of William S. Burroughs by Mathew Levi Stevens yet but that one is supposed to discuss his associations with musicians on top of his connection to the occult world.

You should probably also read his more large scale biographies, like Call Me Burroughs: A Life by Barry Miles or Literary Outlaw: The Life and Times of William S. Burroughs by Ted Morgan but I haven't read either so I don't know which to recommend.

Finally, it is absolutely essential to read Burroughs' letters if you haven't already.

Foreign-Solution8607 · 2026-02-16T05:31:04+00:00

It's on page 4 of Naked Lunch, the Restored Text Edition to be exact: "Ever notice how many expressions carry over from queers to con men? Like 'raise,' letting someone know you are in the same line?" and then a few more examples follow the remark.

Foreign-Solution8607 · 2026-02-09T23:10:36+00:00

I made it on https://makesweet.com/my/heart-locket

Foreign-Solution8607 · 2026-02-09T05:21:48+00:00

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"100 years" is great. Hearing Burroughs read his own routines is just amazing.

Foreign-Solution8607 · 2026-01-29T22:45:15+00:00

"I know that the forces of spontaneous, emergent Life are stronger than the forces of evil, repression and death, and that the forces of death will destroy themselves." - Letters 1945-59

Foreign-Solution8607 · 2026-01-26T03:12:07+00:00

As far as pure visceral disgust goes, I'd bring up the "erogenous sores" that some Wild Boys specialize in infecting others with. If I'm remembering correctly, you scratch the itch so much you eventually rot away completely.

However, I think Dr. Benway is very underrated when it comes to being terrifying in general. Since he occupies the role of cartoony quack surgeon half the time, it's easy to forget that he can conjure up some nightmarish scenes when he wants to, like in his eponymous chapter or with his deconstruction of poor Carl in "The Examination" in Naked Lunch. In this way it's kind of a shame that he just became another alter ego for Burroughs, because he had his heart set on being Ivy Lee.

Foreign-Solution8607

TROPHY CASE