Artists to my mind are the real architects of change, and not the political legislators who implement change after the fact. William S. Burroughs More Quotes by William S. Burroughs More Quotes From William S. Burroughs I do spend a great deal of time alone. I'm not very gregarious. I don't like parties and miscellaneous gatherings with no particular purpose. I think parties are largely a mistake. The bigger they are the more mistaken they are. William S. Burroughs party mistake thinking Like pregnant women lose their teeth feeding the stranger, junkies lose their yellow fangs feeding the monkey. William S. Burroughs monkeys teeth yellow Nobody's busting into YOUR apartment at three in the morning, are they? Well, then don't worry about what they're doing in South Korea and places like that. It's like the standard of living. Are you content to achieve your higher standard of living at the expense of people all over the world who've got a lower standard of living? Most Americans would say yes. Now we ask the question, are you content to enjoy your political freedom at the expense of people who are less free? I think they would also say yes. William S. Burroughs korea morning thinking The underground press serves as the only effective counter to a growing power, and more sophisticated techniques used by establishment mass media to falsify, misrepresent, misquote, rule out of consideration as a priori ridiculous, or simply ignore and blot out of existence: data, books, discoveries that they consider prejudicial to establishment interest. William S. Burroughs media discovery book Kerouac and I are not real at all. The only thing about a writer is that he has written, and not his so-called life. 'And we (will) all die and the stars will go out, one after another. William S. Burroughs dies stars real The most deadly picture is a picture of nothing at all. The colors are there, but there is no image, nothing. William S. Burroughs color Now what sort of man or woman or monster would stroke a centipede I have ever seen? And here is my good big centipede! If such a man exists, I say kill him without more ado. He is a traitor to the human race. William S. Burroughs race monsters men I think the ideal situation for a family is to be completely incestuous. William S. Burroughs situation family thinking Any belief in Creators or Purpose is wishful thinking. And when you point out that perhaps ALL thinking is wishful, reactions of intense irritation give evidence that we are not dealing with logic but with faith. William S. Burroughs irritation giving thinking I'm creating an imaginary — it's always imaginary — world in which I would like to live. William S. Burroughs imaginary creating world Faced by the actual practice of freedom, the French and American revolutions would be forced to stand by their words. William S. Burroughs revolution practice would-be Communication must become total and conscious before we can stop it. William S. Burroughs communication conscious I think that Richard Nixon will go down in history as a true folk hero, who struck a vital blow to the whole diseased concept of the revered image and gave the American virtue of irreverence and skepticism back to the people. William S. Burroughs hero blow thinking Cut word lines — Cut music lines — Smash the control images — Smash the control machine — Burn the books — Kill the priests — Kill! Kill! Kill! William S. Burroughs machines cutting book The only way I like to see cops given flowers is in a flower pot from a high window. William S. Burroughs flower hippie way Strip your psyche to the bare bones of spontaneous process, and you give yourself one chance in a thousand to make the Pass. William S. Burroughs bones chance giving All writing is in fact cut-ups. A collage of words read heard overheard. What else? William S. Burroughs cutting artist writing The youth rebellion [1968] is a worldwide phenomenon that has not been seen before in history. I do not believe they will calm down ad be ad execs at thirty as the Establishment would like us to believe. William S. Burroughs calm youth believe Truth is used to vitalize a statement rather than devitalize it. Truth implies more than a simple statement of fact. "I don't have any whiskey," may be a fact but it is not a truth. William S. Burroughs simple may facts If you build a good name, eventually, that name will be its own currency. William S. Burroughs currency ifs names
