Burroughs and Friends - V. Vale

Lost interviews with iconic writer-philosophers William S. Burroughs, Brion Gysin, John Giorno, Diane di Prima and Gerald V. Casale, never before in print.

Circa 1983 Burroughs prophetically refutes that "Make America Great Again!" trope. In this and in Vale's last interview from 1997, Burroughs (in his sardonic style) illuminates eternal issues around power, the police, politics, pharmaceuticals, pot, pretensions, posturing and psychopathology. He also reveals what television shows he watches, that he reads the newspaper every day, and names some of the "pulp" writers and weekly magazines he read in his youth, that influenced his later writing.

In a heavily-edited series of interviews with writer-painter-world-citizen Brion Gysin, probably the most inspirational topic is "Brion Gysin on Art." He reveals how studying the Japanese language inspired his later calligraphic painting style. By negative example he shows how he failed to "cash in" on his early relationship with Surrealism's founding theorist Andre Breton (and other Surrealist painters who went on to fame and fortune, such as Roberto Matta, Max Ernst, Leonora Carrington, Leonora Fini, Dorothea Tanning and the gallerist Peggy Guggenheim). The poet John Giorno, who operates the record label Giorno Poetry Systems, talks about his long relationship with Burroughs, Gysin and Andy Warhol, whose first foray into filmmaking starred John Giorno in a film called Sleep. Giorno talks about his travels to Morocco, Europe and back to New York City where he was born.

Beat poet Diane di Prima briefly discusses her relationship with William S. Burroughs, especially at Naropa Institute in Colorado. Lastly, Gerald V. Casale, founder of the band DEVO, talks amusingly about doing an important interview with William S. Burroughs, which appeared in Crawdaddy magazine. Actually, Burroughs interviewed DEVO, not the other way around. Fans of the Beat movement, the Punk movement, and all the iconic figures listed above (Burroughs, Gysin, Giorno, di Prima, Casale), will find this an essential addition to their countercultural libraries.