> From: Louis N Proyect <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [PEN-L:11610] William S. Burroughs
> Oddly enough, there is a certain affinity between Naked Lunch and the
> gothic novels of Stephen King. . . .
Haven't read King, only seen a couple of movies based on.
I don't take exception as far as you go, except to say King's stories
don't seem to be about anything, whereas WSB's story is about
everything.
> Burroughs' relationship to the left was non-existent. As the ultimate
> misanthrope, it is difficult to imagine him speaking from the platform of
I believe he did interviews with anarchist mags, though we
might not want to think of them as left. He did do readings at
events that might have had a quasi-left character.
> What Burroughs did articulate was a savage hatred for the destruction
> industrial society wrought on the United States. . . .
But don't forget his stories about oppression and rebellion
in the time of the Incas (or Mayans, forget which). My impression
is that for him every age had a particular horrific way about it,
but that oppression and its opposite -- some kind of pastoral or
urban/lumpen zone of freedom -- were timeless. His books
juxtapose episodes from a variety of historical periods,
including the future, suggesting the game is always more-or-
less the same and only the players are different.
MBS
"People say I'm arrogant, but I know better."
-- John Sununu
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