Oops, forgot about this, leading to a rare second post in a day.
Today is the one hundredth birthday of one of St. Louis' most famous and infamous sons, William S. Burroughs. His writing has the power to shock even today and most of his life was wild, to put it mildly. My pupils must have dilated hugely when I read The Western Lands and Cities of the Red Night.
He spent his last 13 years in Lawrence, Kansas, not far from Kansas City and home of the University of Kansas, but asked to be buried in the family plot here. They had money - his grandfather invented the adding machine. Now he rests in beautiful Bellefontaine Cemetery, the location marked by only a small stone.
Burroughs often wrote with ripping, outrageous humor. Here's an example with him reading the notorious Dr. Benway bit from Naked Lunch (see also here). I like the photo that goes with this on YouTube, showing Frank Zappa standing by the writer, smiling with obvious admiration. WARNING - this recording is not for minors, the easily offended or people who are certain they know what good literature is.
Today is the one hundredth birthday of one of St. Louis' most famous and infamous sons, William S. Burroughs. His writing has the power to shock even today and most of his life was wild, to put it mildly. My pupils must have dilated hugely when I read The Western Lands and Cities of the Red Night.
He spent his last 13 years in Lawrence, Kansas, not far from Kansas City and home of the University of Kansas, but asked to be buried in the family plot here. They had money - his grandfather invented the adding machine. Now he rests in beautiful Bellefontaine Cemetery, the location marked by only a small stone.
Burroughs often wrote with ripping, outrageous humor. Here's an example with him reading the notorious Dr. Benway bit from Naked Lunch (see also here). I like the photo that goes with this on YouTube, showing Frank Zappa standing by the writer, smiling with obvious admiration. WARNING - this recording is not for minors, the easily offended or people who are certain they know what good literature is.
