I wanted to celebrate the books which I have in my William Burroughs collection so I found this site and hunted down all the covers of the books I actually own. Someone on a forum recently asked who rewired my head and the guy who did it first and keeps doing it was Burroughs. A lot of my other literary heroes were inspired by him as well. It would be hard to overestimate the first time I read him and the impact it had on me — a new way to write — a challenge thrown down which you have to ask, how many people took it up? There was always something egoless about Burroughs experimentation; something still fresh. I think it is true of the other two members of the holy trinity of the beat movement too — Kerouac and Ginsberg. Burroughs seems even less bound by time and space than they were though.
Paul
August 4, 2008 at 9:20 pmI agree. Burroughs revealed to me also the amazing possibilities when one liberates oneself from expectations, both social and literary. I think his work has stood the test of time and will continue to do so, for more than the others. He was only ‘Beat’ by association, his work is genreless, completely individual.
Logan Carryall
August 5, 2008 at 3:53 pmSometimes I do not know what the man meant.
opiated
December 28, 2008 at 9:25 pmWhoa man! you certainly have an extensive Burroughs library. Right on. I’ve not read him anywhere near as extensively. Cheers!