All William S. Burroughs Quotes
- All writing is in fact cut-ups. A collage of words read heard overheard. What else? All
- You do an awful lot of bad writing in order to do any good writing. Incredibly bad. I think it would be very interesting to… Any
- One very important aspect of art is that it makes people aware of what they know and don’t know they know. . . . Once… Art
- In the magical universe there are no coincidences and there are no accidents. Nothing happens unless someone wills it to happen. The dogma of science… Accidents
- I project myself out through the glasses and across the street, a ghost in the morning sunlight, torn with disembodied lust. Across
- There are no innocent bystanders ... Bystanders
- Strip your psyche to the bare bones of spontaneous process, and you give yourself one chance in a thousand to make the Pass. Bare
- I see painting as an evocative magic, and there must always be a random factor in magic, one which must be constantly changed and renewed. Changed
- The only way I like to see cops given flowers is in a flower pot from a high window. Cop
- There is no line between the 'real world' and 'world of myth and symbol.' Objects, sensations, hit with the impact of hallucination. Hallucination
- Artists to my mind are the real architects of change Architect
- If after having been exposed to someone's presence you feel as if you've lost a quart of plasma, avoid that presence. You need it like… Anemia
- Every word is autobiographical, and every word is fiction. Autobiographical
- Cut word lines — Cut music lines — Smash the control images — Smash the control machine — Burn the books — Kill the priests… Book
- Communication must become total and conscious before we can stop it. Become Total
- Faced by the actual practice of freedom, the French and American revolutions would be forced to stand by their words. Actual
- I'm creating an imaginary — it's always imaginary — world in which I would like to live. Always Imaginary
- Dennis Cooper, God help him, is a born writer. Born
- 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… All
- There isn't a feeling you can get on drugs that you can't get without drugs. Addiction
- Time is what death needs to grow people in. Death
- Which came first the intestine or the tapeworm? Advice
- I think the ideal situation for a family is to be completely incestuous. Completely
- 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… Ado
- My general theory since 1971 has been that the word is literally a virus, and that it has not been recognized as such because it… Accepted