Regarding the death of Joan Vollmer, Burroughs said the following (from the 1985 introduction to Queer..)
I am forced to the appalling conclusion that I would never have become a writer but for Joan's death, and to a realization of the extent to which this event has motivated and formulated my writing. I live with the constant threat of possession, and a constant need to escape from possession, from control. So the death of Joan brought me in contact with the invader, the Ugly Spirit, and maneuvered me into a life long struggle, in which I have had no choice except to write my way out.
Travels to Tangier
• It seemed like the perfect location for Burroughs - drugs were freely available, his parents would continue to fund his stay, and he rented a room in a house owned by a man who employed a number of homosexual prostitutes. Burroughs had a distrust of women, and the social structure of Tangier aligned with this value of his.
The Beat Hotel, Paris
• Burroughs moved to Paris in 1959 when Naked Lunch was still looking for a publisher. Tangier had became an unhealthy environment for him, so he moved to Paris with Ginsberg to talk to publishing houses. Burroughs brought with him legal issues that followed him from Tangier, involving smuggling drugs. The publication of Naked Lunch helped to suspend his sentence.
I am forced to the appalling conclusion that I would never have become a writer but for Joan's death, and to a realization of the extent to which this event has motivated and formulated my writing. I live with the constant threat of possession, and a constant need to escape from possession, from control. So the death of Joan brought me in contact with the invader, the Ugly Spirit, and maneuvered me into a life long struggle, in which I have had no choice except to write my way out.
Travels to Tangier
Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, Tangier, 1957
• Due to legal issues, Burroughs was live in many of the cities he most wanted to. After drifting from friend to friend, and visiting his parents in Florida, they offered continued financial support and he decided to head to Tangier, Morocco.• It seemed like the perfect location for Burroughs - drugs were freely available, his parents would continue to fund his stay, and he rented a room in a house owned by a man who employed a number of homosexual prostitutes. Burroughs had a distrust of women, and the social structure of Tangier aligned with this value of his.
The Beat Hotel, Paris
• The Beat Hotel was a boarding house hotel where Burroughs and others spent several months after Naked Lunch there. International rights to the book were soon sold, and Burroughs used the advance money (approx. $24,000 today) to buy drugs.
Move to London
• Burroughs left Paris to take up a progressive heroin withdrawal treatment in London with Dr. Dent using the drug apomorphine. Burroughs ended up relapsing, but ended up working in London for six years.
• He supported himself and his addiction by writing pieces for small literary presses..
(There is much more, including his return to the U.S., his short-lived teaching jobs, his residence in The Bunker in NY. He continued writing, and continued his heavy drug use well into his 80's.)
Move to London
• He supported himself and his addiction by writing pieces for small literary presses..
(There is much more, including his return to the U.S., his short-lived teaching jobs, his residence in The Bunker in NY. He continued writing, and continued his heavy drug use well into his 80's.)
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