William Seward Burroughs [ˈwɪljəm ˈsuɚd ˈbɜroʊz], né le 5 février 1914 à Saint-Louis au 4664 de Pershing Avenue, dans l'État du Missouri et mort dans sa propriété de Lawrence de complications liées à une crise cardiaque, le 2 août 1997, est un romancier et artiste américain.
Principalement connu pour ses romans hallucinés mêlant drogue, homosexualité et anticipation, il est associé à la Beat Generation et à ses figures emblématiques : ses amis Jack Kerouac et Allen Ginsberg. Il a élaboré le cut-up, technique littéraire consistant à créer un texte à partir d'autres fragments textuels d'origines diverses.
Wikipedia
“La vérité est là quand tous les mots sont effacés. Les mots ont été faits pour mentir.”
Truth is here when all words are rubbed out. Words were made to lie with.
en
Ultimes Paroles (1997), 31 décembre 1996
“Le sexe était peut-être l'ancre la plus lourde nous retenant dans le temps présent.”
Sex was perhaps the heaviest anchor holding one in present time.
en
La Machine molle (1968)
Ultimes Paroles (1997), 20 juillet 1997
Le Festin nu (1959)
“En thérapie il se présente des situations qu'il faut savoir traiter en expert.”
Ultimes Paroles (1997), 21 mars 1997
“Ce n'est pas la vérité qui blesse, c'est le mensonge éhonté.”
It is not the truth that hurts, it is the outrageous lie.
en
Ultimes Paroles (1997), 31 décembre 1996
The use of Atom bomb when it was not by any stretch of expediency necessary, getting near to the unforgivable sin, since there might not be anyone there to forgive it.
en
Ultimes Paroles (1997), 7 février, 1997
"All out of time and into space. Come out of the time-word 'the' forever. Come out of the body word 'thee' forever. There is nothing to fear. There is no thing in space. There is no word to fear. There is no word in space."
en
La Machine molle (1968)
Writing is just that: not an escape from reality, but an attempt to change reality, so [the] writer can escape the limits of reality.
en
Ultimes Paroles (1997), 2 décembre 1996
La Machine molle (1968)
“Gros Sel Mary » avait tous les « non » et aucun de ces « non » ne voulait jamais dire « oui.”
"Salt Chunk Mary" had all the "nos" and none of them ever meant "yes".
en
La Machine molle (1968)
Le Festin nu (1959)
“Sans friction, sans conflit, n'importe quel système s'arrêtera.”
With no friction, no conflict, any system will run down.
en
Ultimes Paroles (1997), 9 mars 1997
lyric from spoken-word recording "A One God Universe," featured on Spare Ass Annie and Other Tales, paraphrased by Burroughs from The Western Lands, p. 113
The Western Lands (1987)
Source: Queer: A Novel (1985), Chapter Three
“A functioning police state needs no police.”
From the chapter entitled "Benway", p. 31
Naked Lunch (1959)
Source: Nova Express (1968), Chapter One, Prisoners, Come Out
Source: The Soft Machine (1961), Chapter One: "Dead on Arrival"
Source: Queer: A Novel (1985), Chapter Two
Two Years Later: Mexico City Return
Queer: A Novel (1985)
Two Years Later: Mexico City Return
Queer: A Novel (1985)
“Communication must become total and conscious before we can stop it.”
The Ticket That Exploded (1962)
"Letter from a Master Addict to Dangerous Drugs", written in 1956, first published in The British Journal of Addiction, Vol. 52, No. 2 (January 1957), p. 1 and later used as footnotes in Naked Lunch
“Love? What is it? Most natural painkiller what there is. LOVE.”
Last Words: The Final Journals of William S. Burroughs (2000)
"The Lemon Kid"
Exterminator! A Novel (1971)
"The Limits of Control"
The Adding Machine: Collected Essays (1985)
Islam Incorporated and the Parties of Interzone
Naked Lunch (1959)
