John Giorno Interview: Inside William S. Burroughs' Bunker
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- Опубликовано: 3 янв 2018
- Step inside ‘The Bunker’ in New York, the windowless former apartment of the legendary writer William S. Burroughs, and let yourself be guided around - from Burroughs’ typewriter to his shooting target - by its the current resident, the iconic poet John Giorno (b.1936 - d.2019).
William S. Burroughs lived several places throughout his life. Between 1975-82 the drug addict and writer -famous not least for his automatic writing in books like ‘Naked Lunch’- lived in 222 Bowery, one of New York’s first YMCAs in the 1880s. Performance poet John Giorno has lived at the address since the early 1960s and was delighted to host his friend and colleague, who lived in the basement for seven years and dubbed the windowless space ‘The Bunker’.
“He was a brilliant transcendent writer, but he was more brilliant here,” Giorno recalls and explains how Burroughs was high from nine in the morning, and then would have vodkas and joints at five o’clock in the afternoon. Giorno himself would join him, albeit a bit later in the day: “Doing that for those endless years and years, that was a lesson - not sure what the lesson is though.” Having downed several more bottles of vodka and smoked more joints, Burroughs and his guests would shoot at the target poster, which still has its original bullet holes.
John Giorno has been using ‘The Bunker’ as a guest room for visiting friends and today everything has been restored and kept like it was when Burroughs lived there: the target poster, the typewriter, the gun magazines and the desk all set for someone to sit down and write. We also get to see the ‘Orgone box’ - a box invented by psychoanalyst William Reich, who believed that orgones are vibratory atmospheric atoms of the life-principle, which can be concentrated as a creative substratum. “And if you sat in there you would collect orgone energy of the universal power,” Giorno adds.
Burroughs “always believed there could be chaos and catastrophe, so every house should have a vessel to be able to save enough water to live for four days. So that’s why that was there,” says Giorno about the big water tank on the floor. Giorno also shows us Burroughs’ lamp, which is made from a - still functioning - rifle from the Civil War, as well as his BB gun: “It's a generational thing of his, coming of age as a young person in the 1920s and 30s, living in the country in St. Louis, and also outside, and being alone and being frail. I don't think his family were shooters, somehow it entered his life, all of those things.”
John Giorno (b.1936 - d.2019) is an American poet and one of the most influential figures in contemporary performance poetry with his intensely rhythmic and philosophical poetry. He has published a wide range of poetic works such as the collection ‘You Got to Burn to Shine’, spoken words with William S. Burroughs and Laurie Anderson. In 1962, Giorno was the subject of Andy Warhol’s 6-hour movie ‘Sleep’. Giorno has also created Giorno Poetry Systems, which has published more than 40 spoken LP’s with acclaimed artists such as Allen Ginsberg and Patti Smith.
William S. Burroughs (b. William Seward Burroughs II in 1914 - d. 1997) was an American writer and artist. He was a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major influence in popular culture and literature, he wrote eighteen novels and novellas, six collections of short stories and four collections of essays, found success with his confessional first novel ‘Junkie’ (1953) but is best known for his highly controversial third novel ‘Naked Lunch’ (1959). Along with artist, writer and poet Brion Gysin, Burroughs re-invented the literary cut-up technique in works such as ‘The Nova Trilogy’ (1961-1964). Much of Burroughs’ work is semi-autobiographical, primarily drawn from his experiences as a heroin addict. In 1951, he accidentally killed his wife Joan Vollmer with a pistol during a drunken ‘William Tell’ game and was consequently convicted of manslaughter. Through the years, Burroughs also created and exhibited thousands of paintings and other visual artworks, including his celebrated ‘Gunshot Paintings’. He did not, however, exhibit his artwork until 1987, and for last 10 years of his life, he presented his paintings and drawings at museums and galleries worldwide. He died at his home in Kansas after suffering a heart attack in 1997.
John Giorno was interviewed by Christian Lund in New York City in October 2017.
In the video, John Giorno reads from his poem ‘The Death of William Burroughs’ (1997).
Photographs used in the video: Photo of William Burroughs (1989) - Courtesy of John Giorno Archives, Photo of William Burroughs with John Giorno and Keith Haring (1987) - Courtesy of Kate Simon, Photo of William Burroughs in the Bunker (1979) - Courtesy of Kate Simon
Camera: Mathias Nyholm
Edited by: Roxanne Bagheshirin Lærkesen
Produced by: Christian Lund
Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2018
Supported by Nordea-fonden 
Развлечения
Burroughs last words before he loses his senses forever was "Ill be right back"
back in no time
*were, not was
i love the enthusiasm of this man, he can bearely stop the words coming out of his mout
it breaks my heart even to this day, that I never first heard of William S Burroughs till my senior year or highschoo,l. I graduated 11 June 1997 and of course, he sadly died august 1997.. RIP
I love this footage .. it's so real and intimate
Fantastic video. Thanks for sharing
Very fine. Thank you. I loved your Kerouac biography written/organized by you and Lawrence Lee.
thank you so much
"... and over here is the William Tell piece..."
still love his work!!
A Gentile shooting star... Of Great clarity
I pray that place never changes RIP Bill
Fascinating
very cool and interesting
Those random framed pieces of door and wall being shot are just priceless. Wish gun laws weren't so strict here so I could just make smth like this myself.
I want to visit the bunker John!!!
This video is brilliant. How I wish I could type on his typewriter.
And efface his fingerprints?
@@user-bs1qk2ku7b His words are his fingerprints.
I want to have a typewriter myself. Much better than to Type Into a Computer. Those printers are a total ripoff. RIP Bill. - I once brought an "Underwood" typewriter home. It was 15 kilogramms (about 32 pounds) heavy, home. Just Like his. - but while moving, somebody destroyed it by lifting it at the wrong places..
This is the first time ever i see a person having and using a orgon Box! OMG
How did you hear about them? I heard about them through Burroughs. Never heard of an orgone box anywhere else ever.
And I thougth the Bunker would be much LEss furniture. It is beautifull indeed.
I wonder if Hunter S Thompson and William Burroughs ever got together
Hunter visited him and Lawrence and gifted him a rare and powerful pistol. It's in the second Miles biography. Apparently Hunter was his typical whirlwind.
They did meet. I believe their mutual affection for firearms, and obviously literature was the catalyst. To have been a fly on the wall during that encounter would of been interesting to say the least.
Hunter was born in a crossfire hurricane. We can't stop here this is bat country.
@@IAmNoeyesJumpin' Jack Flash mixes The Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas :)
😌❤️
Damn
222 Bowery.
Rothko had his studio at the same address
"windowless apartment..."
that explains something.
What kind of typewriter was it?
Its an al mujahidin.
at 2:25 that looks like a gun
Burroughs died alone with his cats and God, where he wrote one of the most true statements a human could exhibit
western lands?
@@brensherlock Love. The most natural painkiller what there is.
I don't think that he was alone, I think that his companion was with him and possibly a few friends, he was living in Lawrence Kansas and the town adopted him, Mr Burroughs was on my methadone clinic at K U Medical Center and he was very friendly, he would sign books and answer questions no matter how stupid they were, he was just a wonderful person and he is missed by everyone at the clinic
Dead mans shoes. I wore many dead mans jackets. Thank you salvation army.❤
I'm sorry if this comes off as condescending but what a these people who were so unapologetically degenerate in such times, it's fascinating.
could we have that in English maybe?
@@ry4835Graduate the 8th grade or go back to Mexico.
I don't need it, i don't want it, and you cheated me out of it.
Wm Perry You’re completely attached to delusion.
How long has it been since we drew our swords shining?
Hmm. Vodka you say?
What a sad and tragic little life ...
John Giorno was nowhere near Burroughs when he died. Unless he's making some abstract metaphor, it seems like a self-serving lie. Interesting figure, a true poet and he made things happen. But that "I was with Burroughs when he died" is demonstrably untrue.
Steven Adkins Steve--- You are correct, no way John was there when Uncle Bill expired. I expect it was only James Grauerholz...even though William was sick that last year, the heart attack was not expected and he died the next day in hospital. Burroughs kept a journal during most of the last year of his life (published as "Last Words" and is not to be missed!) and the last entry was--- "Love? What is it? Most natural pain killer what there is. Love." Quite extraordinary and poignant. Uncle Bill makes no mention of a visit or impending visit from Giorno, which he would've likely done. And in any case, it can be shown that Giorno was not there...not bedside, anyway. I DO believe that Giorno believes that some "shlupping" of some sort occurred and for all I know, it did.
On a personal note; Like more than a few avid readers of Burroughs, I waged war with addiction to narcotics (H and pills...ok, and coke as well) and Uncle Bill was like a firm but also caring headmaster in the academy of addiction; "Watch who's money you pick up..." and of course gems like "If you are doin' business with a RELIGIOUS son of a bitch---GET IT IN WRITING. His word isn't worth SHIT...not with the good Lord telling him how to fuck you on the deal." Funny? Yes. But also true.
Well, I didn't mean to chunder on so long. If you are getting started on narcotics (opiates as the War on Drug idiots rant rabidly on daily basis), don't go any further unless you have to have them for pain. If you are years in and still out there in the trenches; Get on methadone (as Burroughs did for the last 20+ years of his life) or Suboxone (I was on both). And if you are being tapered down...know that it is hard now and will be for some time but if it gets too much---do yourself a favor and don't screw around, get on methadone or Suboxone. Take care, all.
oh, so you're here looking for the gossip.
@@lara6944 Who are you addressing?
@@1060michaelg i guess not you; i just meant that the fact of who was with him when he died is so very minimal. he didn't said that in the terrain of truth or lie, it is a poem, not an interview. and what would it serve to him except for doing one? at least, the info that he was not there makes it even better -- so thanks for that!
@@lara6944 Ok, thanks for the response...I'd hate to think I was coming off like that. Take care.
I'm sitting in front of an Olympia SG-1 as I watch this.
FAR OUT !!!!!
A mad man born into money
Never worked a day in his life. A deviant
The Burroughs empire. It always ends in tears. He had the American dream sorted 😂
I always wonder how these people who were born rich end up being so fucked up and eventually are the icons we look up to. Like, nobody would care if they were bums, but because they already had some status, connections, etc. people actually praise them. Even if you don't like the bourgeoisie, most of us would have to consider the fact that alot of our cultural heroes are bourgeois, no matter how weird they seemed.
@@DarkAngelEUit’s a great point. I think it’s because they had the luxury of having the means and the time to ponder the human condition. Not having to work a 9-5 which is obviously time consuming and very tiring to boot. These privileged few artists whether it be musicians, poets, authors have the freedom to delve deeper into things the masses can’t do in a weekend off work. Take it or leave it but their works will stand the test of time and hopefully as an inspiration to work less and play more as Brian Eno says
@@easterislandhead9579 I respectfully disagree. I'm working class and I know people who are much better at what they do as a hobby than people who sell out. It really comes down to having the means (wealth) and proper connections to become famous and turn your art into a career.
He wouldn't of been high from his methadone dose just not sick
Yes, he could have been.
After I'd had my morning dose at the clinic, I'd go home and read, and then...it would slowly come on and I'd take the most DEE-LISH nap...waking up occasionally to say, "Ahhh..."
But that was when I first started on Methadone. After a while it's just nice not to be sick or have the cravings---or having to go out and hustle to cover your nut. Take a Xanax or ativan...klonopin if that was all there was---the benzo would boost the Methadone and you'd (well, I'd) nod off...
Methadone does get people high. Especially if mixed with any sort of benzodiazepine. It’s terribly powerful stuff.
I concure
@@1060michaelg my truth too
Not much mention here on Burroughs murdering his wife, Joan Vollmer, in 1951. Disappointing...
@97RAVINEAVE I'm sure that makes a huge difference for the victim.
@97RAVINEAVE Borroughs killed his wife, probably while drunk and/or high, and he never served a day in jail for what he did. And for decades, people have been giving him a clear pass.
@97RAVINEAVE Shooting someone in the head because you were a drunken fuck up is hardly acceptable today. But I get it... Joan's murder happened in the 1950's. Back then, a man could pretty much do whatever he wanted to a woman, so long as she was his wife.
Still doesn't absolve Burroughs of responsibility. Most of us manage to live whole lives without killing someone. An incredibly low bar he couldn't pass, for all his "talent".
You expect this guy who didn't know him back then to talk about that during a tour of his room? So you just want speculation?
@@TheMartialCardist He could at least brought it up, you have to admit that much!
So he used to get high through rest of his life it seems... I thought he dropped off drugs at some point.
Well he drank and smoked pot consistently throughout his life...
- But the Heroin use was from 1945 - 1956 when he quit, and then a long gap, until he started again in the late 70s (while living in the rough area of New York back in the times before it was cleaned up, and drugs were EVERYWHERE
- plus he had all these 'Hero Worship' rock stars / punks / poets / journalists etc coming over to visit and giving him drugs (as he was an early famous open 'drug user' counter-culture literary figure - I guess they wanted to 'pay homage' to this wild artist image)
....And then later on, he was on the methadone program for the remainder of his life (he died in 1997 aged 83)
Not a bad age, considering the kind of life he'd lived!
He was on methadone until the day he died after getting a habit again the seventies. I think he continued to get high on smack on occasion. Al Jourgensen claims to have shot up with him in Lawrence.
I was on a methadone program at The University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City and Mr Burroughs was on my clinic, he was a very kind older man, happy to sign books or answer questions , after he got his methadone he and his companion would go to Nicholas Lunch for breakfast, he was just a very kind person, I am glad that I had a chance to meet him
What weird people.
The great William Burroughs
But he was only a bright guy borne into vast wealth
wow cool. so which gun did he shoot his wife with?
I don't think it's very accurate to dismiss William Burroughs because he shot his wife,it is certainly a horrible thing to do. But let's consider what would've happened to Mr.Burroughs had he been prosecuted for the death of Joan Vollmer: He'd go to a mexican prison,he'd be beaten in jail for being a homosexual and eventually he'd die. What is the Point of prison? Reform allegedly...but prison(albeit hypothetically) wouldn't have provided reform for William Burroughs,would it? The real reform came from his writing,wherein he (by his own admission) faced down his demons and made peace with himself,though he never forgave himself. It tormented him greatly,hence the drugs and the strange fixation on guns and accuracy.
All that aside,the official story (given and sorta confirmed when he was booked for a brief stint in jail) was that the gun discharged accidentally when Burroughs took it out of the case to show a friend (he was drunk at the time,drunks may not have the best trigger discipline) and the only real confirmation for the widely publicised "William Tell" story is anecdotal and more often than not,second hand information.
I imagine the Mexican authorities confiscated that when they threw him in prison in 1952
@The Puppet Head Of course it was a failed William Tell stunt. WSB himself admitted it. He shot his wife because on a subconscious level he was fed up with her. She was mocking him openly, putting him down all the time, because he preferred hanging around with male youths rather than bedding her. One can wonder why a self-confessed 100% gay like WSB would live with a woman, but those were the times. He pretty much cultivated a gentleman gangster persona, and every gangster has his brod on the side, no? Pity he didn't worry about the girl's and their child's fate.
He was a literary genius, what have you done lately?
asking the important questions