William S. Burroughs

more photos (2)



Add New
Videos

William S. Burroughs - A Thanksgiving Prayer
1 comment
William Burroughs interviewed by Kathy Acker (1/4)
Add a comment

More videos…

William's Fans (1605)

Key
Rachel
Ma Walters
Andrada...
Robin
Rizka May
Melissa...
Jose
Frances...
Niya
Roberto
Belky
Meg White
Axel
Patrizi...
Nancy W...
Tom
Brian
Caleigh
Deevond...
Duarte
Bob Arctor
Billy Tea
Daniel
Jean-Ph...
Stephan...
Lalation
V.
Aïda
Saharae...
More fans…


William S. Burroughs

Author profile


born
in St. Louis, Missouri, The United States
February 05, 1914

died
August 02, 1997

gender
male

genre
Literature & Fiction

influences
Samuel Beckett, Jack Black, Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Arthur Rimbaud


About this author

William Seward Burroughs Jnr. always looked like the straight man among the Beat Generation, but his writing - violent, satirical, scatological, pornographic - makes the others look tame.
Burroughs was born into middle-class respectability and after studying English at Harvard and medicine in Vienna, trained as a glider pilot with the American military but was discharged as unfit for service in 1942. While working in the New York shipyards he became addicted to heroin.
His first book Junky: confessions of an unredeemed drug addict was published under the pseudonym William Lee in 1953. His next novel Naked Lunch, 1959, was banned in the USA and first published by Maurice Girodias in Paris. It eventually came out in Britain in 1964. His later w...more


combine editions
William S. Burroughs's Books

Average rating: 3.69 · 88,505 ratings · 3,992 reviews · 157 distinct works · Similar authors
Naked Lunch
by
3.47 of 5 stars 3.47 avg rating — 32,471 ratings — published 1959 — 85 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Junky
by
3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 21,094 ratings — published 1953 — 44 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Queer
3.68 of 5 stars 3.68 avg rating — 4,316 ratings — published 1985 — 23 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
And the Hippos Were Boiled ...
by
3.7 of 5 stars 3.70 avg rating — 3,245 ratings — published 2008 — 38 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
The Soft Machine (The Nova ...
3.52 of 5 stars 3.52 avg rating — 2,564 ratings — published 1961 — 20 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Cities of the Red Night
3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 avg rating — 2,319 ratings — published 1981 — 18 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
The Yage Letters
by
3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 avg rating — 1,621 ratings — published 1963 — 13 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
The Wild Boys
3.64 of 5 stars 3.64 avg rating — 1,576 ratings — published 1969 — 19 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Nova Express (The Nova Tril...
3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 avg rating — 1,559 ratings — published 1964 — 18 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Exterminator!
3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 1,405 ratings — published 1960 — 15 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
More books by William S. Burroughs…

Series by William S. Burroughs

The Soft Machine The Ticket That Exploded Nova Express
The Nova Trilogy (3 books)
by
3.58585086042065 of 5 stars 3.59 avg rating — 5,230 ratings
Cities of the Red Night The Place of Dead Roads The Western Lands
The Red Night Trilogy (3 books)
by
3.911352329262777 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 4,422 ratings

Quotes by William S. Burroughs

“A paranoid is someone who knows a little of what's going on. ”
― William S. Burroughs
tags: drugs, philosophy, politics
1,428 people liked it
like

“Nobody owns life, but anyone who can pick up a frying pan owns death.”
― William S. Burroughs
tags: death, murder
577 people liked it
like

“There is no intensity of love or feeling that does not involve the risk of crippling hurt. It is a duty to take this risk, to love and feel without defense or reserve.”
― William S. Burroughs
tags: love, risk
445 people liked it
like

Polls

What frequently challenged or banned book (or about censorship) for adults/adult themes should we read in February and March 2013?

 
  25 votes, 31.6%

 
  20 votes, 25.3%

 
  15 votes, 19.0%

 
  10 votes, 12.7%

 
  9 votes, 11.4%

79 total votes
comments and details
More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
The Book Challenge: Michelle Kay's Reads 2009 4 571 Apr 17, 2009 12:42am  
SciFi and Fantasy...: July Sci-Fi Book *Please See Posts#1-#14-#26* 73 299 Jun 14, 2009 03:22am  
The Seasonal Read...: By Blood or Marriage (25.2) 41 249 Aug 24, 2009 02:23pm  
Book Buying Addic...: Titles A-Z Game 691 422 Apr 21, 2010 07:20pm  
UK Book Club: Liz's List 133 168 Dec 28, 2010 04:20am  
The History Book ...: VELVETINK'S 50 BOOKS READ IN 2010 24 69 Jan 02, 2011 03:08pm  
Romance Readers R...: 2010 A-Z Author Challenge 566 884 Jan 22, 2011 10:59am  





© 2013 Goodreads Inc