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Burroughs is a mixed bag. He would probably consider gun control as a totalitarian effort. But does this stance reveal a larger principle or an attempt to protect a personal gun fetish? Burroughs is known to have accidentally shot and killed his wife in a drunken game of William Tell yet he was a fan of guns anyway. It is also interesting that Burroughs told Kerouac that buddhism was 'psychic junk.' The buddhist precept against taking intoxicants would certainly hamper a drug habit. Controversial as he is, Burroughs was writing about the spread of viral language and information long before the advent of viral videos. That is one reason I think he still warrants reading and study. At least amongst us literary geeks!
sleazy said:
Yes, your right. In a weird way, I'd spare WB living in these totalitarian times of ours:(:(
Glenn Armstrong said:Yeah, I read Naked Lunch in high school as well. It made more sense this time around. Although Burroughs died when the Internet was in its infancy, he would probably be interested in how the Chinese government is blocking web sites, censoring blogs, etc. And the role of social media in popular uprisings and so on. He also thought that language was a kind of virus which could possibly apply to information as well.
sleazy said:I read that book a long time ago in high school. I'll have to get back to it one day, then I can say more. I vaguely remember the essence of WB:):)....thanx for the nifty heads up anyway:)
