William S. Burroughs -- Commissioner of Sewers: A Film by Klaus Maeck (1991; DVD 2003), constructed around a cogent interview conducted by Jürgen Ploog interlaced with film and readings cut up by the following chapters:
The Do Rights
A Writer
Western Lands
The Cut Ups
Roosevelt after Inauguration
Young Writers
Young People
The Word
Thanksgiving Prayer (2-minute film by Gus Van Sant currently available on YouTube)
Traveling
Dr. Benway
The Future
Weirdly compelling, Burroughs' dry and sardonic delivery style, peppered with sarcastic mimicry, always reminds me of my maternal grandmother, who was born in the same year (1914). They also shared some of the same attitudes about life.
A few excerpts from Burroughs musings from this interesting documentary:
My past experience becomes meaningful in terms of material for writing in the future . . . I wrote Junkie at the age of 35 . . . it was published in [1953]. Publication is . . . of importance to a writer. If I hadn't succeeded in publishing Junkie I might just have given up writing.
Other topics covered in this section include different precepts behind the Tibetan and Egyptian Books of the Dead, Buddhism, and Burroughs' alter ego Kim.
. . . one very important aspect about art is that it makes people aware of what they know and don't know that they know . . . [This] applies . . . to all creative thinking.
Galileo, Paul Cézanne as examples.
Once the breakthrough is made, there is a permanent expansion of awareness but there is always a[n initial] reaction of rage, of outrage, at the first breakthrough.
James Joyce, stream of conciousness as examples.
So the artist then expands awareness and once the breakthrough is made this becomes part of the general awareness . . . Seeing things that are there.
On the cut-up (or cut up) method derived from artists' montages [and collages] and from collaborating with his friend Brion Gysin:
Life is a cut-up.
Closer to the actual facts of perception, your conciousness is being cut by random factors.
Though in some ways this was "old hat," Burroughs continued experimenting with cut-up writing in efforts to transcend linear narrative.
We know things are happening simultaneously but there's no way to show this on a page -- it's just not going to work -- [though] it can . . . in painting and cinema.
The title derives from Burroughs proclamation that he'd rather have been Sanitation Commissioner for Saint Louis County than the President of the United States.
"The most beautiful thing in Tokyo is McDonald's." -- Andy Warhol (1975).
Today's Rune: Partnership.
4 comments:
Erik, Although I have read 'Junkie', I must be too shallow to truly get it. I found it mostly disturbing as hell. Doesn't Andy always have the words to the wise?
Burroughs though not the worst in his chosen school, really I think did his drugs far longer than he needed to in order to understand the nature of them and himself on them. All of them tripped on Buddhism it seems and none of them ever came to be Buddha.
Except Bukowski of course who did not partake in his generations trappings of wandering and musing.
Of the two I prefer Bukowski, at least he made no pretense about who and what he was.
Kinda good to hear it took him a while to get Junkie published. Gives me hope.
Speaking of Burroughs, I recently rewatched "Naked Lunch." Somehow I'd forgotten how bizarre it was. It was nice to be pulled out of anything resembling reality for a while.
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