5 ms·

I dunno - seemed to low key have some casual wealth, being the one Beat who was always in a nice suit, had an extensive drug habit... and all those trips to In

I dunno - seemed to low key have some casual wealth, being the one Beat who was always in a nice suit, had an extensive drug habit... and all those trips to Interzone don't pay for 'emselves!

pentaphobe 1y ago
So yeah, seems like despite some unfortunate liquidation choices by his parents just before the depression, they still retained enough wealth to make certain lifestyle choices easy... > His parents, upon his graduation, had decided to give him a monthly allowance of $200 out of their earnings from Cobblestone Gardens, a substantial sum in those days. > It was enough to keep him going, and indeed it guaranteed his survival for the next twenty-five years, arriving with welcome regularity. The allowance was a ticket to freedom; it allowed him to live where he wanted to and to forgo employment. [1^] And $200 in 1937 gets you a fair bit of freedom (roughly $4500 in today's money) - sure, it's not private jet money but notable. And would have gone pretty far in Mexico and Tangier. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S._Burroughs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S._Burroughs [2]: https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1937?amount=200 https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1937?amount=200
zabzonk 1y ago
It's a long time ago that I read about this, but I think he got money from his parents, who owned something of a tourist shop. I think they divested any shares they had in Burroughs long before this. In any case Bill (Naked Lunch) didn't have any shares in the company, and more or less parasitised his parents - but who amongst us can say that we haven't done that? certainly not me.
- jajko 1y ago
  Not parasiting as an adult from one's parents? Certainly many not only here. Giving back is more the name of the game.
- kevinventullo 1y ago
  Divested doesn’t mean they didn’t inherit their wealth from it. Most people do not parasitize from their parents after reaching adulthood; it is in fact the status quo. You might want to be a bit more embarrassed about it.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
narrator 1y ago
For those who want to get a feel for Burroughs dark art, here he is reading his poem, "The Last Words of Hassan Sabbah": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGJ7Z6AEzpY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGJ7Z6AEzpY
- huxley 1y ago
  Burroughs was also one of the great comic monologuists, in March 1975 he was asked by Harper’s Magazine (along with others including Ronald Reagan, who had just finished his last term as governor of California) to contribute an essay on the topic “When Did You Stop Wanting to be President”, it’s a funny essay but delivered best as a monologue: https://youtu.be/ir0JDok2TDE?si=W7JExK7VeMbL9Ky- https://youtu.be/ir0JDok2TDE?si=W7JExK7VeMbL9Ky-

I dunno - seemed to low key have some casual wealth, being the one Beat who was always in a nice suit, had an extensive drug habit... and all those trips to Interzone don't pay for 'emselves!

pentaphobe 1y ago

So yeah, seems like despite some unfortunate liquidation choices by his parents just before the depression, they still retained enough wealth to make certain lifestyle choices easy... > His parents, upon his graduation, had decided to give him a monthly allowance of $200 out of their earnings from Cobblestone Gardens, a substantial sum in those days. > It was enough to keep him going, and indeed it guaranteed his survival for the next twenty-five years, arriving with welcome regularity. The allowance was a ticket to freedom; it allowed him to live where he wanted to and to forgo employment. [1^] And $200 in 1937 gets you a fair bit of freedom (roughly $4500 in today's money) - sure, it's not private jet money but notable. And would have gone pretty far in Mexico and Tangier. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S._Burroughs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S._Burroughs [2]: https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1937?amount=200 https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1937?amount=200

zabzonk 1y ago

It's a long time ago that I read about this, but I think he got money from his parents, who owned something of a tourist shop. I think they divested any shares they had in Burroughs long before this. In any case Bill (Naked Lunch) didn't have any shares in the company, and more or less parasitised his parents - but who amongst us can say that we haven't done that? certainly not me.

jajko 1y ago
Not parasiting as an adult from one's parents? Certainly many not only here. Giving back is more the name of the game.
kevinventullo 1y ago
Divested doesn’t mean they didn’t inherit their wealth from it. Most people do not parasitize from their parents after reaching adulthood; it is in fact the status quo. You might want to be a bit more embarrassed about it.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]

narrator 1y ago

For those who want to get a feel for Burroughs dark art, here he is reading his poem, "The Last Words of Hassan Sabbah": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGJ7Z6AEzpY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGJ7Z6AEzpY

huxley 1y ago
Burroughs was also one of the great comic monologuists, in March 1975 he was asked by Harper’s Magazine (along with others including Ronald Reagan, who had just finished his last term as governor of California) to contribute an essay on the topic “When Did You Stop Wanting to be President”, it’s a funny essay but delivered best as a monologue: https://youtu.be/ir0JDok2TDE?si=W7JExK7VeMbL9Ky- https://youtu.be/ir0JDok2TDE?si=W7JExK7VeMbL9Ky-