William S. Burroughs
author profile
born
February 05, 1914
died
August 02, 1997
gender
male
place of birth
St. Louis, Missouri, The United States
website
genre
Literature & Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Humor
influences
Céline, Rimbaud, Black, Genet, Sartre, Beckett, Miller, Korzybski, Spengler, Gysin
about this author
American novelist, essayist, social critic, painter and spoken word performer.
Much of Burroughs's work is semi-autobiographical, drawn from his experiences as an opiate addict, a condition that marked the last fifty years of his life.
A primary member of the Beat Generation, he was an avant-garde author who affected popular culture as well as literature. In 1984, he was elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters."
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avg rating: 3.65
| 18,466 ratings
| 1,289 reviews
| 101 distinct works
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85 fans
More books by William S. Burroughs…
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Naked Lunch: The Restored Text by William S. Burroughs avg rating 3.49 — 5,380 ratings — published 1959 36 editions |
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Junky: The Definitive Text of Junk (50th Anniversary Edition) by William S. Burroughs, Oliver Harris avg rating 3.86 — 3,105 ratings — published 1953 25 editions |
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Queer (Picador Books) by William S. Burroughs avg rating 3.63 — 1,088 ratings — published 1985 8 editions |
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The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs avg rating 3.45 — 695 ratings — published 1961 12 editions |
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Cities of the Red Night: A Novel by William S. Burroughs avg rating 3.74 — 611 ratings — published 1981 12 editions |
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The Wild Boys: A Book of the Dead by William S. Burroughs avg rating 3.59 — 489 ratings — published 1971 11 editions |
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Nova Express by William S. Burroughs avg rating 3.57 — 473 ratings — published 1964 7 editions |
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Exterminator! by William S. Burroughs avg rating 3.79 — 419 ratings — published 1973 5 editions |
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The Yage Letters by William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg avg rating 3.71 — 419 ratings — published 1963 5 editions |
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The Western Lands by William S. Burroughs avg rating 4.04 — 329 ratings — published 1987 6 editions |
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"A paranoid is someone who knows a little of what's going on. "
— William S. Burroughs
6 editions
— William S. Burroughs
"Nobody owns life, but anyone who can pick up a frying pan owns death."
— William S. Burroughs
6 editions
— William S. Burroughs
"A paranoid is someone who knows a little of what's going on. A psychotic is a guy who's just found out what's going on."
— William S. Burroughs
6 editions
— William S. Burroughs
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