…Sigh. Yes. When he was alive, did he ever say what exactly he meant by this?
I don’t think he spent a lot of his time decoding his work for the reader. I’d guess that there is probably some scholarship on his work that seeks to do that, though. Maybe look into Beat studies for some answers…
You could also put your own meaning into those words, of course. I don’t think there is a “wrong” answer about phrases that a writer makes that seems ambiguous.
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The only thing I enjoy about this annual post anymore is that each year there are more and more people in the comments recognizing that this guy was a femicidal dipshit who need not be lionized.
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maybe he was bitter about declining funding for the space program
What are you here for?
You’re all here… you’re all here to go.
You’re all here to go, that’s right, you’re all here to go. Earth is going to be a space station, and we are here to go into space! That’s what we’re here for.
William S. Burroughs – William's Welcome (What Are You Here For?) | Genius
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Me: “What an interesting poem by Burroughs. Never heard it before. I should read more of his work.”
(reads comments)
Me: “He did what??? Holy fucking burnt toast, batman, what a douche canoe. And those friends of his, too.”
Hope all of your Thanksgivings (for those who celebrate) were good, and you are able to avoid the capitalist hellscape that is Black Friday if possible. I’m thankful for another year of Boing Boing’s always erudite commentators and what I learn from them.
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This. Really. Thank you for nailing my feelings exactly - I want to shake him a little bit and say “dude, this was not the last, greatest, or anything ~of~ anything.” It comes off as a combination of sheer arrogance and bitterness.
Just another misogynist, rich, dilettante. Trust fund outlaw.
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Ahhhh… the power and privilege to be admired for publicly wallowing in hopelessness and self-pity!!!
Yep. Angst for the sake of angst at this point; and someone who certainly never seems to have grown up.
Ahhhh… the power and privilege to be admired for publicly wallowing in hopelessness and self-pity!!!
Yep. I hope they pick a different thing for next year. I always forget till I click - BoingBoing is a beacon of counterculture “hope” and inspiration, or so I’ve always felt. This doesn’t fit. This is an old pissed off man being bitter. We’ve got enough of those around - lets find some hope and inspiration instead.
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