FILM: William S Burroughs: A Man Within

I don't want to get to over-zealous and compile an intense written post prematurely; the film William S Burroughs: A Man Within is showing at ACMI in Melbourne for four days in early September, and I'm looking forward to catching it more than once. [Note: I'll be attending both Friday and Sunday sessions of the film, if any locals are interested in joining me.]

The documentary was created by Yony Leyser, and features appearances from countercultural luminaries such as Genesis P-Orridge, Sonic Youth (Thurston and Lee also composed the soundtrack, I believe), Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, David Cronenberg, Jello Biafra, John Waters, Diane DiPrima and Peter Weller.



This documentary looks fantastic; I wish I could write thousands of words right now exclaiming the way Burroughs' work, life and legend has enriched my life so far but I'll save my dissertation until after I've watched the film. He's part of an enduring obsession. He's one of the figures who started it all for me, and who's influence I know will play more and more of a part in my intellectual and creative development in the future. When I watched Nik Sheehan's wonderful documentary on Brion Gysin, Flicker, last year, I became aware of how interlocked and connected so many different facets of my cultural passions are. It's a concept that I'm only really beginning to comprehend; 'taste' is holistic and not necessarily cohesive or chronological. Absolutely everything is connected.

You can find a great review of the film -- and a worthwhile ensuing discussion -- here. Bet your behinds I'll be writing more on the topic in a few weeks after I've had the opportunity to consume and digest the flick wholeheartedly.

PS - to those of you who have been so kind in contacting me with your well wishes -- via the blog and other means -- I really, truly, really appreciate it. I'm currently faced with a pretty impressive workload at my new job, but I genuinely intend to focus more attention on the special place we've cultivated here.