William S. Burroughs Papers
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Abstract
William S. Burroughs (1914-1997) was an American writer and visual artist primarily associated with postmodernism and the Beat Generation subculture. He wrote 18 novels and novellas, six collections of short stories, four collections of essays, and five books have been published of his interviews and correspondences. Burroughs also collaborated on projects and recordings with numerous performers and musicians, made many appearances in films, and created and exhibited thousands of visual artworks, including his celebrated "Shotgun Art." Burroughs' semiautobiographical writing often addressed themes of substance use, homosexuality, mysticism, and death, and frequently employed experimental prose and unreliable narrators. The William S. Burroughs Papers (bulk 1981-1997) consist of materials documenting Burroughs' personal and professional life as a novelist and short story writer. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence and manuscripts in various stages of completion. Notable correspondents include Paul Bowles, Lucien Carr, Gregory Corso, Allen Ginsberg, Ted Morgan, David Ohle, and Patti Smith. Works documented in this collection include The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets (a musical fable created with Tom Waits and Robert Wilson, 1989), My Education: A Book of Dreams (1995), the editorial selection The Letters of William S. Burroughs, Vol. 1: 1945-1959 (1993), as well as shorter works, including "Death Fiend Guerrillas", Ghost of Chance, "The Johnson Family", and Tornado Alley. The materials document not only Burroughs' artistic process, but also the larger context of postmodern literature and the Beat Generation subculture.
Biographical Note
William S. Burroughs (1914-1997) was an American writer and visual artist primarily associated with postmodernism and the Beat Generation subculture. He wrote 18 novels and novellas, six collections of short stories, four collections of essays, and five books have been published of his interviews and correspondences. Burroughs also collaborated on projects and recordings with numerous performers and musicians, made many appearances in films, and created and exhibited thousands of visual artworks, including his celebrated "Shotgun Art." Burroughs' semiautobiographical writing often addressed themes of substance use, homosexuality, mysticism, and death, and frequently employed experimental prose and unreliable narrators.
Arrangement
The collection has been arranged into six series, one of which has been further arranged into subseries. The series and subseries arrangement is as follows:
Series I. Personal
Series II. Correspondence
Series III. Writing
Subseries III.A. The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullet
Subseries III.B. Everything Lost: The Latin American Notebook of William S. Burroughs
Subseries III.C. The Letters of William S. Burroughs, Vol. 1: 1945-1959
Subseries III.D. My Education: A Book of Dreams
Subseries III.E. Novels
Subseries III.F. Short Stories and Novellas
Subseries III.G. Unpublished and Unrealized Projects
Series IV. Artwork
Series V. Events and Publicity
Series VI. Subject Files
All series and subseries are arranged alphabetically.
Scope and Contents
The William S. Burroughs Papers (bulk 1981-1997) consist of materials documenting Burroughs' personal and professional life as a novelist and short story writer. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence and manuscripts in various stages of completion. Notable correspondents include Paul Bowles, Lucien Carr, Gregory Corso, Allen Ginsberg, Ted Morgan, David Ohle, and Patti Smith. Works documented in this collection include The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets (a musical fable created with Tom Waits and Robert Wilson, 1989), My Education: A Book of Dreams (1995), the editorial selection The Letters of William S. Burroughs, Vol. 1: 1945-1959 (1993), as well as shorter works, including "Death Fiend Guerrillas", Ghost of Chance, "The Johnson Family", and Tornado Alley. However, there is not a significant amount of material for Burroughs' more well-known works, such as Naked Lunch and other novels. The materials document not only Burroughs' artistic process, but also the larger context of postmodern literature and the Beat Generation subculture. Many of the folders are decorated, but materials documenting Burroughs' career as a visual artist are not a significant part of this collection. Burroughs' frequent use of the themes of substance use, homosexuality, and death, as well as his general interests in firearms, animals, and the occult, are well documented in the collection through his subject files. Additional autobiographical material is provided by a few personal items, including psychiatric evaluations, a series of letters with his doctors, photographs, and an employee's lawsuit regarding unpaid wages. Additional collaborative work is evident through event posters and flyers, materials related to his participation in a video by the band U2, and materials related to Literary Outlaw: The Life and Times of William S. Burroughs by Ted Morgan.
Subjects
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Donors
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use materials in the collection in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; William S. Burroughs Papers; MSS 625; box number; folder number or item identifier; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from James Grauerholz via The Wylie Agency in June 2021, and transferred to NYU Special Collections in December 2022. The accession number associated with this purchase is 2023.004.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Audiovisual materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers. Materials not yet digitized will need to have access copies made before they can be used. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact Fales Library and Special Collections, special.collections@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596 with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.
Born-Digital Access Policies and Procedures
Advance notice is required for the use of computer records. Original physical digital media is restricted. An access terminal for born-digital materials in the collection is available by appointment for reading room viewing and listening only. Researchers may view an item's original container and/or carrier, but the physical carriers themselves are not available for use because of preservation concerns.
Appraisal
One letter and envelope from Allen Ginsberg to William S. Burroughs with evidence of mold were photocopied, and the originals discarded. A tablecloth, scarf, and personal items of James Grauerholz were removed and returned to the donor.
About this Guide
Processing Information
At the time of accessioning, materials were rehoused in archival boxes, retaining original folders and order. Boxes were condensed or expanded in order to properly house materials; as a result, box and folder numbers do not completely correspond with the original inventory prepared by the seller. A crosswalk of original to NYU box numbers is available in the collection's accession record.
Audio cassettes were also physically separated from their original locations to be housed together in an appropriate-sized box.
At the time of processing in 2025, the collection was arranged and described into series. Materials were placed into acid-free legal boxes and folders, and oversized materials were rehoused in appropriately sized boxes. Items were removed from non-archival sleeves. Duplicate publications and documents, publications widely available online or in NYU's catalog holdings, and documents with sensitive personal information were removed.
In most cases, painted file folders were retained with their original contents, but rehoused in paper sleeves behind these items. In instances where the original contents were deaccessioned, painted file folders were moved to Series IV.
21 floppy disks were forensically imaged, analyzed, and arranged in Forensic Toolkit. New York University Libraries follow professional standards and best practices when imaging, ingesting, and processing born-digital material in order to maintain the integrity and authenticity of the content.
