Literary Outlaw: The Life and Times of William S. Burroughs

ted morgan william s. burroughs

Anarchist, heroin addict, alcoholic, nihilist, homosexual crusader, and brilliant writer, William S. Burroughs was the patron saint and Prince of Darkness of the Beats of the 1950s. His ground-breaking avant-garde masterpiece NAKED LUNCH shocked the literary world with its graphic descriptions of drug abuse and sexual perversion—and resulted in a landmark Supreme Court ruling on obscenity.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tim Morgan's biography of Burroughs captures one of the most lionized artist/criminals of our times—a violent, reckless genius whose history is as bizarre as his fiction. A rebel—hero, Burroughs symbolized the anti—authoritarian cause for three generations of the young and disillusioned—exploring the murkiest depths of human terror and degradation in his art—and in his life.

Literary Outlaw is a wild ride through the life of a man who became an icon for the counterculture and whose perverse and decadent life mirrors his remarkable art.

Genres biographynonfictionbiography memoirliteraturehistoryliterary criticismbooks about booksamerican20th centurymorocco

672 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,1988

This edition

Format: 672 pages, Paperback
Published: January 1, 1990 by Avon Books
ISBN: 9780380708826
ASIN: 0380708825
Language: English

About the author

ted morgan

Born Saint-Charles Armand Gabriel de Gramont*, he used the name Sanche de Gramont as his byline (and also on his books) during the early part of his career. He worked as a journalist for many years, and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 for local reporting written under pressure of a deadline. He first came to the United States in 1937, and became a naturalized citizen in February 1977, at which time he had his name legally changed to Ted Morgan. He was a National Book Award finalist in 1982 for Maugham: A Biography.

*His father was a military pilot who died in an accident in 1943, at which point he inherited the title "Comte de Gramont". He was properly styled "Saint-Charles Armand Gabriel, Comte de Gramont" until he renounced his title upon becoming a U.S. citizen in 1977.