The Ticket That Exploded the Soft Machine
The Burroughs Primer in 'The Wire' brought it all flooding back. How we would bunk off essential classes in school like 'How to be a success in life & stay clear of all that wild craziness' & we would end up lost in libraries speed reading everything we could find on the Beast, Ginsberg, Kesey, Kerouac.
I always was a bit obsessed by this period & the letter 'K' as my neighbour can verify & testify.
Seeing Ginsberg perform live in Blythswood Square was life changing.
However, Burroughs was also so inspirational over the years. Like Ginsberg, he was fiercely independent, like my own father, (maybe me?) & hopefully my sons are blest with this spirit too.
Shooting his wife was a trifle extreme, but his writings on junk, the Mayans, number 23, virus, power, usa, cut ups arab culture, drones, sufism, hassan I Sabbah, Assassins......etc are awe inspiring.
He taught me how to mean what i say & say what I mean, no matter the consequences & to be true to my heart. Although I suspect I may have lifted the latter advice from Ginsberg.
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