William S. Burroughs: "A Thanksgiving Prayer" (1986)

boing
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What? Because I think pedophilia is reprehensible from both public servants and authors we like? The whole point here is that this blog has continually turned a blind eye to Burroughs’ past while decrying every damn other public figure who steps on their own dick. I can’t believe how willing so many of you are to equivocate for this piece of trash. If this was a post about Cosby you’d be falling all over yourself to condemn him. Privilege my ass.

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Unfortunately, I’m not sure who to alert to get this added to the list:

Frankly, I’m disappointed in the lack of updates to the list.

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It would be just as well if the list and the “joke” of referring to the list were a distant memory.

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Sounds like someone’s bucking to be put on the “Disappointed by Abelard Lindsay” list :grinning:

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I don’t understand who is helped by pretending a dead artist never existed, except that it makes the task of sorting everyone into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ a bit easier which is of course what life is all about

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Celine was not a lady. Celine was a man. Celine was a Nazi collaborator. Celine was a wonderful writer.

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I’d be surprised if I’m not there already.

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I know. I was referencing that there is more than one Bowles to choose from.

And of course there’s this:

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Ok that is funny. Pardon me! And yes Sade is the sweetest taboo.

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I thought they meant Sade. What’d she–
Ah, got it.

(EDIT: too late)

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The Castle is my favorite by him, the one where Nazi collaborators in France are fleeing to German territory. The only worthwhile character in the book was his cat and maybe his wife. The scene at the train station with the refugees is devastating. But Journey to the End of the Night is a classic, still.

But fuck nazis… none the less.

Back to the topic of Burroughs, does anyone know that despite being a misogynist, he saved a woman from the Nazis by marrying her? Illse Klapper. This was prior to the war.

And the death of his wife was probably an accident, for whatever that is worth. It seems like they had a tumultuous relationship which was complicated by their drug use. And they failed their son, there is little doubt about that. He died of a drug overdose.

I’d say his paedaresty in North Africa is pretty unforgivable, though.

[ETA] The book I was referencing was actually Castle to Castle, not The Castle. Derp on my end.

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