With William Burroughs: A Report from the Bunker

By: Victor Bockris

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Synopsis: A trove of intimate conversations between Burroughs and Susan Sontag, Andy Warhol, Patti Smith, David Bowie, and more icons of &’70s New York and beyond. During the 1970s, William Burroughs, author of Junky and Naked Lunch, lived in a loft on the Bowery in New York City&’s Lower East Side. Christened &“The Bunker,&” his apartment became a modern-day literary salon with people like Andy Warhol, Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Susan Sontag, and fellow beat poet Allen Ginsberg passing through for a drink or a joint and the promise of stimulating conversation with the ingenious and eccentric Burroughs. Among Burroughs&’s entourage was author Victor Bockris, whose tape recorder was always running to capture meandering dinner party conversations and electric late-night sessions in the Bunker. In these moments, Bockris captures Burroughs&’s desires, anxieties, and thoughts on writing, photography, punk rock, and more. The recordings and recollections in With William Burroughs create an unprecedentedly multidimensional portrait of a man who is often overshadowed by his reputation.