The Letters of William S. Burroughs

Description

“These funny, filthy, and terrifically smart letters reveal him in a way that no biographer can.” — New York Newsday
 
Guru of the Beat generation, éminence grise of the international avant-garde, dark prophet, and blackest of satirists, William S. Burroughs has had a range of influence rivaled by few living writers. This volume of his correspondence from 1945 to 1959 vividly documents the personal and cultural history through which Burroughs developed, revealing clues to illuminate his life and keys to open up his texts. More than that, it shows how letter-writing was itself integral to his life and to his fiction.
 
Beginning as surprisingly formal notes from the road to his friends Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, the letters deepen in substance and style. Then, in Tangier, comes a dramatic shift in voice and vision and the explosive, distinctive letters that will become Naked Lunch. Letters were lifelines for Burroughs, the outcast; and works-in-progress for Burroughs, the writer; and, they track his turbulent journey across two decades and three continents. To read them as they were written is to experience a unique merging of life and letters, the extraordinary story of Williams S. Burroughs homme de lettres.
 
“Unrelenting impact.” — Los Angeles ReaderThe Letters of William S. BurroughsIntroduction by Oliver Harris

1945
July 24—Allen Ginsberg

1946
September 1—Allen Ginsberg
October 10—Allen Ginsberg

1947
February 19—Allen Ginsberg
March 11—Allen Ginsberg
August 8—Allen Ginsberg

1948
February 20—Allen Ginsberg
June 5—Allen Ginsberg And Jack Kerouac
October 14— Allen Ginsberg
November 9—Allen Ginsberg
November 30—Allen Ginsberg
November 30—Jack Kerouac
December 2—Allen Ginsberg

1949
January 10—Allen Ginsberg
January 16—Allen Ginsberg
January 30—Allen Ginsberg
February 7—Allen Ginsberg
March 15—Jack Kerouac
March 18—Allen Ginsberg
April 16—Allen Ginsberg
May 27—Jack Kerouac
June 24—Jack Kerouac
September 26—Jack Kerouac
October 13—Allen Ginsberg
November 2—Jack Kerouac
December 24—Allen Ginsberg

1950
January 1—Jack Kerouac
January 22—Jack Kerouac
March 10—Jack Kerouac
May 1—Allen Ginsberg
September 18—Jack Kerouac

1951
January 1—Allen Ginsberg
January 11—Allen Ginsberg
January 28—Jack Kerouac
March 5—Lucien Carr
April 24—Jack Kerouac
May 5—Allen Ginsberg
May—Allen Ginsberg
May—Jack Kerouac
June 20—Jack Kerouac
November 5—Allen Ginsberg
December 20—Allen Ginsberg

1952
January 19—Allen Ginsberg
March 5—Allen Ginsberg
March 20—Allen Ginsberg
March 26—Jack Kerouac
April 3—Jack Kerouac
April 5—Allen Ginsberg
April—Jack Kerouac
April 14—Allen Ginsberg
April 22—Allen Ginsberg
April 26—Allen Ginsberg
May 15—Allen Ginsberg
May 23—Allen Ginsberg
June 4—Allen Ginsberg
June 23—Allen Ginsberg
Early July—Allen Ginsberg
July 13—Allen Ginsberg
September 18—Allen Ginsberg
October 6 & 14—Allen Ginsberg
November 5—Allen Ginsberg
December 15—Allen Ginsberg
December 23—Allen Ginsberg
December 24—Allen Ginsberg

1953
January 10—Allen Ginsberg
March 1 & 3—Allen Ginsberg
March 5—Allen Ginsberg
April 12—Allen Ginsberg
April 22—Allen Ginsberg
May 5—Allen Ginsberg
May 12—Allen Ginsberg
May 23 & 24—Allen Ginsberg
May 30—Allen Ginsberg
June 5—Allen Ginsberg
June 6—Allen Ginsberg
June 18—Allen Ginsberg
Early July—Allen Ginsberg
July 8—Allen Ginsberg
July 10—Allen Ginsberg
August 3—Allen Ginsberg
August 17—Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac
December 14—Jack Kerouac
December 24—Allen Ginsberg

1954
January 2—Allen Ginsberg
January 26—Allen Ginsberg
February 9—Allen Ginsberg
March 1—Allen Ginsberg
March 12—Neal Cassady
April 7—Allen Ginsberg
April 22—Jack Kerouac
May 2—Neal Cassady
May 4—Jack Kerouac
May 11—Allen Ginsberg
May 24—Jack Kerouac
June 16—Allen Ginsberg
June 24—Allen Ginsberg
July 3 & 4—Allen Ginsberg
July 15, 16, & 22—Allen Ginsberg
August 18—Jack Kerouac
August 26—Allen Ginsberg
September 3—Jack Kerouac
Early October—Allen Ginsberg
October 13—Allen Ginsberg
November 12 & 13—Allen Ginsberg
December 7—Jack Kerouac
December 13—Allen Ginsberg
December 30—Allen Ginsberg

1955
January 6—Allen Ginsberg
January 9—Allen Ginsberg
January 12—Allen Ginsberg
January 21—Allen Ginsberg
February 7—Allen Ginsberg
February 12—Jack Kerouac
February 19—Allen Ginsberg
April 20—Allen Ginsberg
June 9—Jack Kerouac
July 5—Allen Ginsberg
August 10—Allen Ginsberg
September 21—Allen Ginsberg
October 6 & 7—Allen Ginsberg
October 10 & 11—Allen Ginsberg
October 21—Allen Ginsberg
October 23—Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac
November 1—Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg
November 2—Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg

1956
February 17—Allen Ginsberg
February 26 & 27—Allen Ginsberg
March 14—Allen Ginsberg
April 16—Allen Ginsberg
May 8—Allen Ginsberg
May 15—Allen Ginsberg
June 18—Allen Ginsberg
July 26—Bill Gilmore
September 16—Allen Ginsberg
October 13—Allen Ginsberg
October 29—Allen Ginsberg
December 20—Allen Ginsberg

1957
January 23—Allen Ginsberg
January 28—Allen Ginsberg
January 31/February 1—Allen Ginsberg
February 14—Allen Ginsberg
March 25—Bill Gilmore
June 15—Allen Ginsberg
July 18—Alan Ansen
July 30—Alan Ansen
August 20—Allen Ginsberg
August 28—Allen Ginsberg
September 20—Allen Ginsberg
October 8—Allen Ginsberg
October 19—Allen Ginsberg
October 28—Allen Ginsberg
November 10—Allen Ginsberg
November 26—Allen Ginsberg
December 4—Jack Kerouac
December 8—Allen Ginsberg

1958
January 9—Allen Ginsberg
February 16—Allen Ginsberg
April 18—Lawrence Ferlinghetti
July 20—Paul Bowles
July—Allen Ginsberg
July 24—Allen Ginsberg
August 25—Allen Ginsberg
September 28—Allen Ginsberg
October 10—Allen Ginsberg
October 19—Paul Bowles

1959
January 2—Allen Ginsberg
January 17—Brion Gysin
January 17—Paul Bowles
February 20—Paul Bowles
April 2—Allen Ginsberg
April 21—Allen Ginsberg
May 18—Allen Ginsberg
June 8—Allen Ginsberg
Late July—Allen Ginsberg
August 24—Allen Ginsberg
September 5—Allen Ginsberg
September 11—Allen Ginsberg
September 25—Allen Ginsberg
October 7—Allen Ginsberg
October 27—Allen Ginsberg
October 29—Allen Ginsberg

Notes
Index

William S. Burroughs (1914-1997)—guru of the Beat Generation, controversial éminence grise of the international avant-garde, dark prophet, and blackest of black humor satirists—had a range of influence rivaled by few post-World War II writers. His many books include Naked Lunch, Queer, Exterminator!, The Cat Inside, The Western Lands, and Interzone.

Oliver Harris edited The Letters of William S. Burroughs 1945-1959. He is currently a lecturer in American Literature at the University of Keele.

US

Additional information

Dimensions	1.0800 × 5.5100 × 8.3900 in
Imprint	Penguin Books
ISBN-13	09780140094527
ISBN-10	0140094520
Author	William S. Burroughs, Oliver Harris
Audience	General / adult
BISAC	HIS036060, LCO011000
Subjects	short story anthology, history teacher gifts, short story collections, book lover gifts, long story short, book gifts, history lovers gifts, history buff gifts, historical books, gifts for history buffs, united states history, history gifts, book lovers gifts, biographies of famous people, American history books, us history, Literature, book lover, literary gifts, autobiographies, gifts for readers, biographies, LCO011000, autobiography, history books, short stories, book lovers, American, biography, american history, HIS036060, history