100 Heroes: William S. Burroughs

William Seward Burroughs was a writer who became a pivotal part of the Beat Generation.

His work and lifestyle have become an integral part of American counter-culture mythology.

Early life

Born in 1914, Burroughs was part of a wealthy family from Missouri.

He studied English at Harvard but received a substantial allowance from his family and had no need to work and was able to focus on his writing.

The writing

Initially writing under the pen name, William Lee, it wasn't until 1953 that his first novel, Junkie, was published and he began to build his reputation as a writer.

Burroughs is best-known for his novel, The Naked Lunch - published in 1959.

Much of Burroughs' writing is experimental, featuring unreliable narrators, and is often semi-autobiographical. The occult was also one of his lifelong interests and was often featured in his writing.

Drug use

Burroughs was an enthusiastic user of drugs.

His main addiction was heroin.

The Beat Generation

Burroughs first met Alan Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac in 1943 when they were all in New York City.

The marriages

Burroughs married twice.

He was married to Ilse Klapper from 1937 until 1946.

In 1946, Burroughs married Joan Vollmer. The couple had one sone - William S. Burroughs, Jnr. Burroughs killed Vollmer in a shooting accident in 1951.

The men

Burroughs began exploring his attraction to men from a young age.

While studying at Harvard in the 1930s, Burroughs explored the gay bars of New York City.

Death

Burroughs died in 1997, aged 83.

Queer

Although it was written in the 1950s as a sequel to Junkie (1953), Queer wasn't published until 1985.

In 2024, the novel was adapted by Luca Guadagnino into a film of the same name. The film stars Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey.

Queer centres on William Lee (the pen-name used by Burroughs in his early writing). An American expat living in Mexico City, Lee becomes fixated with Eugene Allerton - an attractive, younger American man who remains aloof and immune to Lee's devotion. Lee embarks on a mythical quest to experience the hallucinations of yagé (ayahuasca), but ultimately realises that his pursuit of Allerton is futile and that his life has little meaning.

It's suggested that the story was inspired by Burrough's pursuit of Lewis Marker.