History Creator / WilliamSBurroughs

* Music/IggyPop's ''Music/LustForLife'' is inspired by the experimental novel "The Ticket That Exploded", most notably by mentions of “Johnny Yen” (described by Burroughs as “The Boy-Girl Other Half strip tease God of sexual frustration”) and “hypnotizing chickens”.

* The album "Stoned Immaculate" (2000) has a track where Burroughs reads poetry by Music/TheDoors frontman Jim Morrison, accompanied by the singer yelping and groaning in the background. Both Morrison and Burroughs were dead by the time this album was released.

* Likewise, Colonel Horace Gentleman from ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' is a hybrid of him and Creator/SeanConnery.

One of the great innovators of the twentieth century and founding member of [[Creator/TheBeatGeneration the Beats]], William Seward Burroughs II (February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was the avant-garde author of over twenty books, ranging from straightforward and autobiographical (''Junky'', ''Queer'') to surreal and anarchic (''Naked Lunch'', and The Nova Trilogy) to nostalgic, solemn and elegiac (''The Wild Boys'' and The Red Night Trilogy). As the titles of his first two books imply, he was both a drug-addict and a [[strike:homosexual]] bisexual, something he had always been grimly unapologetic about.

* ''[=Interzone=]'': A collection of early routines that show Burroughs stylistic progression from his realistic works to the uncompromising surrealism of his later work. Sometimes referred to as an early version of Naked Lunch, many of the stories were published piecemeal before the collection was finally released in 1989.

* ''Naked Lunch'': Burroughs' most famous work, a collection of farcical sketches that unmask the horrors lurking beneath the calm veneer of modern life. To date the only Burroughs novel to be translated (albeit ''very'' loosely) into [[Film/NakedLunch a feature film]]. The book triggered a major court battle over literary censorship in America which is chronicled in most editions of the book.

* ''[=Junky=]'': originally published by American pulp fiction publisher Ace Books and credited to "William Lee".

* ''The Black Rider'', a [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructed]] PostModern RockOpera version of ''Theatre/DerFreischuetz'' created by Robert Wilson. Burroughs wrote the lyrics for the songs, with music by Music/TomWaits.

* ''Music/TheBlackRider'' by Music/TomWaits was written in collaboration with Burroughs, who also has a spoken word track on the album: "It Ain't No Sin".

* Dale Gribble from ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed is based in no small part on William S. Burroughs]], though it'd be more accurate to say that Dale is a hybrid between Burroughs and Creator/HunterSThompson.

->''“[[ArcWords Nothing is true,]] [[Franchise/AssassinsCreed everything is permitted.]]”''
-->-- The Last Words of Hassan i Sabbah

* ''The Black Rider'', a [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructed]] PostModern RockOpera version of ''Theatre/DerFreischuetz'' created by Robert Wilson. Burroughs wrote the lyrics for the songs, with music by Tom Waits.

* ''Literature/NakedLunch'': Burroughs' most famous work, a collection of farcical sketches that unmask the horrors lurking beneath the calm veneer of modern life. To date the only Burroughs novel to be translated (albeit ''very'' loosely) into [[Film/NakedLunch a feature film]]. The book triggered a major court battle over literary censorship in America which is chronicled in most editions of the book.

* ''Naked Lunch'': Burroughs' most famous work, a collection of farcical sketches that unmask the horrors lurking beneath the calm veneer of modern life. To date the only Burroughs novel to be translated (albeit ''very'' loosely) into [[Film/NakedLunch a feature film]]. The book triggered a major court battle over literary censorship in America which is chronicled in most editions of the book.

* ''The Wild Boys'': Homoerotic fantasy in which savage teenage boys in nothing but rainbow colored jockstraps and roller blades destroy western civilization. Notable for being Burroughs' first attempt to return to a straightforward narrative since 'Queer', while managing to retain several scenes of kaleidoscopic free-association free for all, in the 'Penny Arcade Peep Show' sections. That aside, it's actually quite accessible and a great way to experiences Burroughs' savage satire if ''Literature/NakedLunch'' is proving too difficult.

* The Nova Trilogy (''The Soft Machine'', ''The Ticket That Exploded'', ''Nova Express''): A SpaceOpera about a group of extraterrestrial terrorists called the 'Nova Mob' who want to ignite the earth into an exploding supernova by creating insoluble conflicts. They can only be stopped by the Nova Police, who understand their methods and know that "Nobody, on any planet, wants to see a police officer". Thought to be [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible nigh unreadable]] because of Burrough's extensive use of the 'cut-up' technique, which involves cutting up a page of text into four pieces and re-arranging them to create new text. Although contrary to the claims of bewildered skeptics, the observant reader, if patient, can see a fairly reliable pattern emerge. Usually, a chapter will start out fairly straightforward, with normal prose and everything, then after the bulk of the story is told, the reader will become aware that they're reading the same story, only "cut-up" and may become aware of new connotations and subtleties not noticed in the original. Passages will sometimes descend into strings of seemingly random cut-up images. If taken into account that this was Burroughs' attempt to introduce the montage technique of film into literature, some of the more incoherent passages will begin to make a lot more sense.

* BiTheWay: Bill from ''Junky''.

->''"Most of the trouble in this world has been caused by folks who can't mind their own business, because they have no business of their own to mind, any more than a smallpox virus has."''

->''"[[ArcWords Nothing is true,]] [[Franchise/AssassinsCreed everything is permitted.]]"''

One of the great innovators of the twentieth century and founding member of [[Creator/TheBeatGeneration the Beats]], William S. Burroughs (1914-1997) was the avant-garde author of over twenty books, ranging from straightforward and autobiographical (''Junky'', ''Queer'') to surreal and anarchic (''Naked Lunch'', and The Nova Trilogy) to nostalgic, solemn and elegiac (''The Wild Boys'' and The Red Night Trilogy). As the titles of his first two books imply, he was both a drug-addict and a [[strike:homosexual]] bisexual, something he had always been grimly unapologetic about.

* Dale Gribble from ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' is based in no small part on William S. Burroughs, though it'd be more accurate to say that Dale is a CompositeCharacter between Burroughs and Creator/HunterSThompson.

Despite his personal troubles and the controversy surrounding his work, Burroughs became highly influential and respected by a wide variety of younger artists, most notably, the more famous beat writers Jack Kerouac and Creator/AllenGinsberg. After experimenting with the cut-up technique, he almost pioneered the graphic novel form (Creator/AlanMoore openly cites Burroughs as a prominent inspiration), but couldn't get the funds, because of the expenses of color copying. His works have also served as an important influence on CyberPunk and NewWaveScienceFiction (the ''Nova Trilogy'', as science fiction itself, is considered a sort of prototype of the New Wave). The actual {{punk}} scene owes a great deal to Burroughs, as well, with his return to America in 1974 being feted by a large number of punks and related artists (including Music/PattiSmith); the Godfather of Punk Music/IggyPop was such a big fan ("Lust for Life" is merely his most obvious example of Burroughs fandom) that when the BBC did a radio biography of Burroughs, he was chosen to present it. And of course, there's his literary heir, Creator/HunterSThompson, who was basically Burroughs [[DisSimile if he were straight, younger, and focused more on sports writing and other nonfiction]]. Most Thompson fans have at least a liking for Burroughs, and vice versa.

* ''[=Interzone=]'': A collection of early routines that show Burroughs stylistic progression from his realistic works to the uncompromising surrealism of his later work. Sometimes referred to as an early version of Naked Lunch.
* ''The Yage Letters'': a hodgepodge of Burroughs routines and letters to and from his onetime boyfriend Creator/AllenGinsberg regarding the search for a plant with psychedelic properties.

* ''Dead Fingers Talk'': Burroughs took the texts of the Nova Trilogy and combined bits and pieces to create a new narrative which was as hard to follow as the original books.

* He recites the spoken word piece "Sharkey's Night" on Music/LaurieAnderson's "Mister Heartbreak" (1984).

Despite his personal troubles and the controversy surrounding his work, Burroughs became highly influential and respected by a wide variety of younger artists, most notably, the more famous beat writers Jack Kerouac and Creator/AllenGinsberg. After experimenting with the cut-up technique, he almost pioneered the graphic novel form (Creator/AlanMoore openly cites Burroughs as a prominent inspiration), but couldn't get the funds, because of the expenses of color copying. His works have also served as an important influence on CyberPunk and NewWaveScienceFiction (the ''Nova Trilogy'', as science fiction itself, is considered a sort of prototype of the New Wave). The actual {{punk}} scene owes a great deal to Burroughs, as well, with his return to America in 1974 being feted by a large number of punks and related artists (including Music/PattiSmith); the Godfather of Punk Music/IggyPop was such a big fan ("Lust for Life" is merely his most obvious example of Burroughs fandom) that when the BBC did a radio biography of Burroughs, he was chosen to present it. And of course, there's his literary heir, Creator/HunterSThompson, who was basically Burroughs [[DisSimile but straight, younger, a sportswriter, a gun nut, and focused more on nonfiction]]. Most Thompson fans have at least a liking for Burroughs, and vice versa.

Despite his personal troubles and the controversy surrounding his work, Burroughs became highly influential and respected by a wide variety of younger artists, most notably, the more famous beat writers Jack Kerouac and Creator/AllenGinsberg. After experimenting with the cut-up technique, he almost pioneered the graphic novel form (Creator/AlanMoore openly cites Burroughs as a prominent inspiration), but couldn't get the funds, because of the expenses of color copying. His works have also served as an important influence on CyberPunk and NewWaveScienceFiction (the ''Nova Trilogy'', as science fiction itself, is considered a sort of prototype of the New Wave). The actual {{punk}} scene owes a great deal to Burroughs, as well, with his return to America in 1974 being feted by a large number of punks and related artists (including Music/PattiSmith); the Godfather of Punk Music/IggyPop was such a big fan ("Lust for Life" is merely his most obvious example of Burroughs fandom) that when the BBC did a radio biography of Burroughs, he was chosen to present it. And of course, there's his literary heir, HunterSThompson, who was basically Burroughs [[DisSimile but straight, younger, a sportswriter, a gun nut, and focused more on nonfiction]]. Most Thompson fans have at least a liking for Burroughs, and vice versa.

!!Other works be William S. Burroughs contain examples of:

* ''Literature/NakedLunch'': Burroughs most famous work, a collection of farcical sketches that unmask the horrors lurking beneath the calm veneer of modern life. To date the only Burroughs novel to be translated (albeit ''very'' loosely) into [[Film/NakedLunch a feature film]]. The book triggered a major court battle over literary censorship in America which is chronicled in most editions of the book.

* Literature/TheRedNightTrilogy (''Cities of the Red Night'', ''The Place of Dead Roads'', ''The Western Lands''): Burroughs's last great work; a psychedelic journey through six irradiated cities from the past that were struck by an asteroid from a red sky. The first chronicles a dual narrative about a psychic detective and some gay pirates, both which tangle together in the first of the six titular cities, Tamaghis. The second book follows a time-traveling old-western shootist, which somehow sets up the third's odyssey through the Egyptian Land of the Dead, culminating in a satisfying conclusion to Burroughs's mythology. Contains frequent [[ContinuityNod references and homages]] to earlier works and some of the most delicious [[AuthorTract opinion pieces]] and [[TakeThat elderly scorn]] ever written, as well as (thankfully) conservative use of the cut-up technique, these last three books can be taken as Burrough's final thesis in regards to his entire career.

* ''Music/TheBlackRider'', a [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructed]] PostModern RockOpera version of ''Theatre/DerFreischutz'' created by Robert Wilson. Burroughs wrote the lyrics for the songs, with music by Tom Waits.

'''William S. Burroughs in popular culture'''

* Music/SonicYouth, Music/JohnCale, and others provided musical back-up to Burroughs' 1990 SpokenWordInMusic album "Dead City Radio".

* The album "Stoned Immaculate" (2000) has a track where Burroughs reads poetry by Music/TheDoors frontman Jim Morrison, accompanied by the singer yelping and groaning in the background. Both Morrison and Burroughs were dead by the time this album was released.

* Music/IggyPop's ''Music/LustForLife'' is inspired by novels

* ''Last Words'': a collection of diary entries from the final few years of Burroughs' life.

* ''The Yage Letters'': a hodgepodge of Burroughs routines and letters to and from his onetime boyfriend AllenGinsberg regarding the search for a plant with psychedelic properties.