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Word Virus: The William S. Burroughs Reader
With the publication of Naked Lunch in 1959, William Burroughs abruptly brought international letters into the postmodern age. Beginning with his very early writing (including a chapter from his and Jack Kerouac's never-before-seen collaborative novel), Word Virus follows the arc of Burroughs's remarkable career, from his darkly hilarious "routines" to the experimental cut-up novels to Cities of the Red Night and The Cat Inside. Beautifully edited and complemented by James Grauerholz's illuminating biographical essays, Word Virus charts Burroughs's major themes and places the work in the context of the life. It is an excellent tool for the scholar and a delight for the general reader. Throughout a career that spanned half of the twentieth century, William S. Burroughs managed continually to be a visionary among writers. When he died in 1997, the world of letters lost its most elegant outsider.
576 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
70 people are currently reading
1303 people want to read
About the author
William S. Burroughs
449 books7,009 followersWilliam Seward Burroughs II, (also known by his pen name William Lee) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, painter, and spoken word performer.
A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th century".
His influence is considered to have affected a range of popular culture as well as literature. Burroughs wrote 18 novels and novellas, six collections of short stories and four collections of essays.
Five books have been published of his interviews and correspondences. He also collaborated on projects and recordings with numerous performers and musicians, and made many appearances in films.
He was born to a wealthy family in St. Louis, Missouri, grandson of the inventor and founder of the Burroughs Corporation, William Seward Burroughs I, and nephew of public relations manager Ivy Lee. Burroughs began writing essays and journals in early adolescence. He left home in 1932 to attend Harvard University, studied English, and anthropology as a postgraduate, and later attended medical school in Vienna. After being turned down by the Office of Strategic Services and U.S. Navy in 1942 to serve in World War II, he dropped out and became afflicted with the drug addiction that affected him for the rest of his life, while working a variety of jobs. In 1943 while living in New York City, he befriended Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, the mutually influential foundation of what became the countercultural movement of the Beat Generation.
Much of Burroughs's work is semi-autobiographical, primarily drawn from his experiences as a heroin addict, as he lived throughout Mexico City, London, Paris, Berlin, the South American Amazon and Tangier in Morocco. Finding success with his confessional first novel, Junkie (1953), Burroughs is perhaps best known for his third novel Naked Lunch (1959), a controversy-fraught work that underwent a court case under the U.S. sodomy laws. With Brion Gysin, he also popularized the literary cut-up technique in works such as The Nova Trilogy (1961–64). In 1983, Burroughs was elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and in 1984 was awarded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by France. Jack Kerouac called Burroughs the "greatest satirical writer since Jonathan Swift", a reputation he owes to his "lifelong subversion" of the moral, political and economic systems of modern American society, articulated in often darkly humorous sardonicism. J. G. Ballard considered Burroughs to be "the most important writer to emerge since the Second World War", while Norman Mailer declared him "the only American writer who may be conceivably possessed by genius".
Burroughs had one child, William Seward Burroughs III (1947-1981), with his second wife Joan Vollmer. Vollmer died in 1951 in Mexico City. Burroughs was convicted of manslaughter in Vollmer's death, an event that deeply permeated all of his writings. Burroughs died at his home in Lawrence, Kansas, after suffering a heart attack in 1997.
A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th century".
His influence is considered to have affected a range of popular culture as well as literature. Burroughs wrote 18 novels and novellas, six collections of short stories and four collections of essays.
Five books have been published of his interviews and correspondences. He also collaborated on projects and recordings with numerous performers and musicians, and made many appearances in films.
He was born to a wealthy family in St. Louis, Missouri, grandson of the inventor and founder of the Burroughs Corporation, William Seward Burroughs I, and nephew of public relations manager Ivy Lee. Burroughs began writing essays and journals in early adolescence. He left home in 1932 to attend Harvard University, studied English, and anthropology as a postgraduate, and later attended medical school in Vienna. After being turned down by the Office of Strategic Services and U.S. Navy in 1942 to serve in World War II, he dropped out and became afflicted with the drug addiction that affected him for the rest of his life, while working a variety of jobs. In 1943 while living in New York City, he befriended Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, the mutually influential foundation of what became the countercultural movement of the Beat Generation.
Much of Burroughs's work is semi-autobiographical, primarily drawn from his experiences as a heroin addict, as he lived throughout Mexico City, London, Paris, Berlin, the South American Amazon and Tangier in Morocco. Finding success with his confessional first novel, Junkie (1953), Burroughs is perhaps best known for his third novel Naked Lunch (1959), a controversy-fraught work that underwent a court case under the U.S. sodomy laws. With Brion Gysin, he also popularized the literary cut-up technique in works such as The Nova Trilogy (1961–64). In 1983, Burroughs was elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and in 1984 was awarded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by France. Jack Kerouac called Burroughs the "greatest satirical writer since Jonathan Swift", a reputation he owes to his "lifelong subversion" of the moral, political and economic systems of modern American society, articulated in often darkly humorous sardonicism. J. G. Ballard considered Burroughs to be "the most important writer to emerge since the Second World War", while Norman Mailer declared him "the only American writer who may be conceivably possessed by genius".
Burroughs had one child, William Seward Burroughs III (1947-1981), with his second wife Joan Vollmer. Vollmer died in 1951 in Mexico City. Burroughs was convicted of manslaughter in Vollmer's death, an event that deeply permeated all of his writings. Burroughs died at his home in Lawrence, Kansas, after suffering a heart attack in 1997.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
August 7, 2014
I'm as pretentious as the next gal willing to admit it, but I can only go so far. This I will say without hesitation: the beatpoets can suck all of my dicks. Ginsberg, Kerouac, and Burroughs.
Oh, so tortured and free of responsibility! But you were not, William. You opted out in lieu of an endless search for.... Semi-lucid science fiction? If I wanted gritty, I'd suck Hubert Selby Jr.'s dick. Even then, I acknowledge the fantastical element.
I cannot with you, Sir.
I'm not stupid and missing the point. I'm a woman, and you were a man who died- lost without an authentic voice.
Cut ups? Really? For a man even tangentially associated with the phrase, "kill your darlings," you couldn't muster it. The slap-dash approach of connecting unrelated strings of things because of pride is not to be celebrated.
I was hugely disappointed.
I wanted to be moved. I wanted to understand the idea of "ex-pat"- mais non.
The whole book reads as an inconvenience of culture. I do not blame the editors. I'd probably suck that misogynist dick likewise- Burroughs was just the man he presented himself to be. Be yourself! By all means be yourself! But if you want to be an ass, do it well. Wrap your shit in a bow. Let there be a redeeming fatherly quality in that of the father of punk rock.
Oh, so tortured and free of responsibility! But you were not, William. You opted out in lieu of an endless search for.... Semi-lucid science fiction? If I wanted gritty, I'd suck Hubert Selby Jr.'s dick. Even then, I acknowledge the fantastical element.
I cannot with you, Sir.
I'm not stupid and missing the point. I'm a woman, and you were a man who died- lost without an authentic voice.
Cut ups? Really? For a man even tangentially associated with the phrase, "kill your darlings," you couldn't muster it. The slap-dash approach of connecting unrelated strings of things because of pride is not to be celebrated.
I was hugely disappointed.
I wanted to be moved. I wanted to understand the idea of "ex-pat"- mais non.
The whole book reads as an inconvenience of culture. I do not blame the editors. I'd probably suck that misogynist dick likewise- Burroughs was just the man he presented himself to be. Be yourself! By all means be yourself! But if you want to be an ass, do it well. Wrap your shit in a bow. Let there be a redeeming fatherly quality in that of the father of punk rock.
December 14, 2023
A small confession — I didn't read all of this volume. Some iterations of early work were not that interesting to me, and other excerpts from work which I've already read just made me want to read Cities of the Red Night, etc again.
Did enjoy the broad sweeping overview of WSB's life work, and the essays by his long time companion / enabler James Grauerholz.
Did enjoy the broad sweeping overview of WSB's life work, and the essays by his long time companion / enabler James Grauerholz.
October 10, 2020
This volume is a labor of love by and for lovers of Burroughs. I do not fall into that category so for me it was a bit of a slog, especially through the sections that featured his most experimental prose, including the "cut-up" method. I prefer Genet to Burroughs because of the former's lyricism and verbal artistry, I prefer Kerouac to Burroughs because of the former's joie de vivre which comes out despite the author's own torments, and I prefer Kesey to Burroughs because of the former's earthiness and sense of humor. I could go on in that vein about Nelson Algren, Ginsburg, and others, but all of that is not to say that I dislike Burroughs, only that I don't rank him in the lofty heights in which others may place him. I like him best in works like Junky, where his style is more journalistic. His flair for the scientastic (OK, I made that word up) and his preoccupation with certain basic bodily processes I find a little off-putting, and when he reaches for enlightenment I just don't find him an especially reliable or trustworthy guide--Bukowski seems more honest--but, there I go again. The layout of the book is, somewhat ironically, quite linear and chronological and features helpful introductory essays before each section by the editor; the works featured are all published works with but one exception. In short, a conventional anthology about a most unconventional author. One thing I do appreciate about Burroughs is his courage in making innovative attempts, however skeptical I sometimes am about his success rate.
June 20, 2015
It is a great over-arching anthology. Which is a bit problematic if you are familiar with the catalog or intend to tackle the pieces individually: the familiar bits are repetitive, the unfamiliar ones are disjointed and feel like you are spoiling the original piece by only getting excerpts that are lacking in context (but that experience is consistent with the bulk of WSB's writing anyway).
As usual, I prefer the more autobiographical of his writings, particularly the excerpts from Junky and Queer, and his tales of adventure in C. and S. America, as well as portrayal of the seedier side of old New York in the early half of the 20th century.
As usual, I prefer the more autobiographical of his writings, particularly the excerpts from Junky and Queer, and his tales of adventure in C. and S. America, as well as portrayal of the seedier side of old New York in the early half of the 20th century.
Read
December 13, 2008Great cover; but it's a distillation of The Maestro's works through the fingers of his editor, James Grauerholz.
If you can find the edition with the CD, go for it...otherwise, keep in mind that Library of America is working on a Burroughs collection.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZ_6FQ...
If you can find the edition with the CD, go for it...otherwise, keep in mind that Library of America is working on a Burroughs collection.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZ_6FQ...
Read
December 29, 2008A comprehensive anthology and overview of Burroughs' work throughout his career. Don't get caught in the rut of so many people who think that Burroughs is nothing but heroin and Moroccan boys. One of his central focii is the nature of mass media and control, and how Powers-That-Be exploit this relationship.Plus he can be funny as hell.
November 2, 2007
A good introduction to Burroughs with sections of each of his works. The best part about this book (hard cover) was the CD of Burroughs spoken word in which he reads various selections present in the reader. Hilarious.
February 12, 2017
Very well put together reader 5/5.
But I can't over look or escape Burroughs celebration of colonial racism, sex tourism, total misogyny, paedophilia, & the fact he literally shot his wife in the face. His total lack empathy for anyone other than his fellow middle class WASPs is obscene.
But I can't over look or escape Burroughs celebration of colonial racism, sex tourism, total misogyny, paedophilia, & the fact he literally shot his wife in the face. His total lack empathy for anyone other than his fellow middle class WASPs is obscene.
September 6, 2008
Want a chunk of the impossible in one easily digestible book? Eat this!
April 7, 2015
Awesome compendium.....great intros to each section...must read for WSB fanatics.
May 18, 2014
A good intro or overview of the master's work with some biographical essays by his editor/companion James Grauerholtz.
September 21, 2014
WSB / Excellent !
October 14, 2015
excellent sampling of Burrough's work with informative biographical information on this unique specimen of American letters.
December 30, 2015
What better way to read the cut-up king than a lovingly-compiled grab-bag?...
May 30, 2018
THE essential Burroughs reader
September 26, 2008
A good reader that manages to explain some of what you're reading by giving you some well written background of the man behind the virus. Burroughs is my favorite write and probably will remain so until I die. His expansive style and intellect shoot through the pages and into your brain... for me at least, never to be compromised. His thoughts are in the forefront of my world view. I am not a follower, but a grateful fan.
May 30, 2009
you can write a book by walking around the block. this statement by burroughs best encapsulates what the beats were about. their literature was deeply intertangled in flesh and blood, and it just so happens that the corpus of burrous is one goddamned nasty snarl! the political dimension of his work still resounds in various subcultures, and, although it's been really well bastardized by MTV, there's still a guerilla breathing between the pages of this particular tome.
September 28, 2009
Wonderful compilation of Burroughs' best writing. If you've never read anything by him, start with this book. If you prefer to start with an actual novel, I suggest starting with Junky.
May 13, 2025
No rating available as I didn’t read all of all the samples. (Just enough to know I would want to read the full length works.) I also read all the biographical essays throughout. Curious to see how Burroughs in proper format shakes out for me because I absolutely loved this deep dive into his life and the parts of the samples I did read.
August 9, 2012
This has a decent taste of all of the best writing. But you should go to the full texts. This tome is a good refresher course in Burroughs though..the King of cut-up and fold in, and archpriest of beat-hipsterdom..forever
November 27, 2007
For the William S. Burroughs fan, or for the beginner. Selected prose pieces by the man.
March 9, 2008
My personal intro to the drug-addled, homosexual genius. Can you go wrong with such a one? NO!
Want to read
December 14, 2008He is strangely intriguing to know.
August 25, 2012
punching a hole in the big lie
March 10, 2013
a must
Read
October 15, 2015Abandoned
March 30, 2008
a great collection
December 2, 2011
A sound taste of madness.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews