--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: During this period of his life, Burroughs…" description: "\"“During this period of his life, Burroughs was seeking a physical utopia, a place where he could live and act as he wanted with interference from neith..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44a/greg-a-mullins-240626_beat-generation_during-this-period-of-his-life-burroughs_1389357.jpg" --- # During this period of his life, Burroughs was seeking a… ![“During this period of his life, Burroughs was seeking a physical utopia, a place where he could live and act as he wanted with interference from neither official state authority nor unofficial moral authority. In fact, he wanted to live in a place where he was out of place and where consequently…” quote by Greg A. Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44a/greg-a-mullins-240626_beat-generation_during-this-period-of-his-life-burroughs_1389357.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44a/greg-a-mullins-240626_beat-generation_during-this-period-of-his-life-burroughs_1389357.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44a/greg-a-mullins-240626_beat-generation_during-this-period-of-his-life-burroughs_1389357.jpg) > ““During this period of his life, Burroughs was seeking a physical utopia, a place where he could live and act as he wanted with interference from neither official state authority nor unofficial moral authority. In fact, he wanted to live in a place where he was out of place and where consequently he would be free.”” Greg A. Mullins ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Burroughs sought a place free from imposed authority to live authentically. **In simple terms:** He wanted a utopia without external control. Key Takeaway Seek environments that honor personal freedom. Themes freedom utopia authenticity exile rebellion Mood reflective critical Type Beat generation:1 Burroughs:1 Exile:1 Exiled:0 Life:0 Moral authority:1 Morocco:0 Tangier:0 Utopia:1 William-burroughs:0 William-s-burroughs:0 Physical Utopia:1 Burroughs Seeking:1 Life Burroughs:0 When to use this quote - creative retreats - alternative communities - political activism Key Concepts philosophical autonomy social critique personal liberty Questions to Reflect On - What does personal freedom mean to you? - How do you balance autonomy with responsibility? A Different Perspective Utopias may be unattainable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beat generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beat-generation/) [Exile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exile/) [Exiled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exiled/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Moral authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-authority/) [Morocco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morocco/) [Tangier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tangier/) [Utopia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/utopia/) ## Related quotes > [“After 1957 On The Road sold a trillion levis and a million espresso coffee machines, and also sent countless kids on the road. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/after-1957-on-the-road-sold-a-trillion-levis-and-a-million-espresso/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“El comerciante de basura no vende su producto al consumidor, vende el consumidor a su producto. Él no mejora ni simplifica su mercancía. Degrada…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/el-comerciante-de-basura-no-vende-su-producto-al-consumidor-vende-el/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“I dreamt that I took William Burrough’s penis and tied it up with piano wire. I hung him like a Chagall painting…In the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-schulman/i-dreamt-that-i-took-william-burrough-s-penis-and-tied-it-up-with/) [Sarah Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-schulman/) > [Look at these poisonous color maps where flesh trees grow from human sacrifices; listen to these sniggering half-heard words of tenderness and doom from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/look-at-these-poisonous-color-maps-where-flesh-trees-grow-from-human/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“In my early teens, I heard about Naked Lunch and its mutating typewriters and talking cockroaches. While I would hardly classify its dystopic vision…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dub/in-my-early-teens-i-heard-about-naked-lunch-and-its-mutating/) Peter Dubé > [“Flannery O'Connor had a certain genius. I don't think John Updike has, or Norman Mailer or William Styron, all of whom are talented, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/flannery-o-connor-had-a-certain-genius-i-don-t-think-john-updike-has/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [“Tangier is more New York than New York. ... Then you must see how alike the two places are. The life revolves wholly about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/tangier-is-more-new-york-than-new-york-then-you-must-see-how-alike/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [You realize how much fun we did have, with no money at all. We'd stay in peoples' homes in Tangiers. When you're young, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manolo-blahnik/you-realize-how-much-fun-we-did-have-with-no-money-at-all-we-d-stay/) [Manolo Blahnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manolo-blahnik/) > [A photographer who wants to see…must recognize the value of the familiar. Your ability to see is not increased by the distance you put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-patterson/a-photographer-who-wants-to-see-must-recognize-the-value-of-the/) [Freeman Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-patterson/) > [“come on mama, let's rent us a boat sail down that gibraltar moat shed a tear every time we pass tangier”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/townes-van-zandt/come-on-mama-let-s-rent-us-a-boat-sail-down-that-gibraltar-moat-shed/) [Townes Van Zandt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/townes-van-zandt/) > [I try not to handle the foreign subjects with my English techniques and preconceptions, but to paint Sydney in Sydney and Tangier in Tangier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newbery/i-try-not-to-handle-the-foreign-subjects-with-my-english-techniques/) John Newbery > [Always was Morocco. And recently the country's leadership seems to have embraced it in all its ill-reputed glory. The days of predatory poets in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/always-was-morocco-and-recently-the-country-s-leadership-seems-to/) [Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/) > [“There is a Cinzano on the table beside me and a siphon of aerated water. I am at a loss to know how ants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mayne/there-is-a-cinzano-on-the-table-beside-me-and-a-siphon-of-aerated/) Peter Mayne > [We shot a bit of 'Hunted' in Tangier, and you are in a very, very different world. It's very difficult to blend in over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rayner/we-shot-a-bit-of-hunted-in-tangier-and-you-are-in-a-very-very/) [Adam Rayner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rayner/) > [“I did not choose to live in Tangier permanently; it happened. My visit was meant to be of short duration; after that I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/i-did-not-choose-to-live-in-tangier-permanently-it-happened-my-visit/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) ## More Beat generation quotes > [The Beat Generation, that was a vision that we had, John Clellon Holmes and I, and Allen Ginsberg in an even wilder way, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/the-beat-generation-that-was-a-vision-that-we-had-john-clellon-holmes/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“I am waiting for the meek to be blessed and inherit the earth... without taxes”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/i-am-waiting-for-the-meek-to-be-blessed-and-inherit-the-earth-without/) [Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/) > [ “I realized Jack \[Kerouac\] was deeply committed to writing. Kesey was just as deeply committed to living and experiencing the lives of others; for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sterling-lord/i-realized-jack-kerouac-was-deeply-committed-to-writing-kesey-was/) [Sterling Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sterling-lord/) > [“The Beats and the Pranksters showed us different ways of opting out of society. They were both the personification of countercultural movements. The Beats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sterling-lord/the-beats-and-the-pranksters-showed-us-different-ways-of-opting-out/) [Sterling Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sterling-lord/) > [“I believe in order, tenderness, and piety.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-believe-in-order-tenderness-and-piety/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“The beat generation is a coffeehouse full of people expectantly looking at their watches waiting for the beat generation to come on. \*1958”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/the-beat-generation-is-a-coffeehouse-full-of-people-expectantly/) [Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/) > [He had no place he could stay in without getting tired of it and because there was nowhere to go but everywhere, keep rolling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/he-had-no-place-he-could-stay-in-without-getting-tired-of-it-and/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Because the only people for me are the mad ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/because-the-only-people-for-me-are-the-mad-ones/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“He’d been toting it, and checking it, and packing and unpacking, all the way since fate was on the river - that’s how long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-clellon-holmes/he-d-been-toting-it-and-checking-it-and-packing-and-unpacking-all-the/) [John Clellon Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-clellon-holmes/) > [It’s a sort of furtiveness … Like we were a generation of furtive. You know, with an inner knowledge there’s no use flaunting on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/it-s-a-sort-of-furtiveness-like-we-were-a-generation-of-furtive-you/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“The Beat Generation, that was a vision that we had, John Clellon Holmes and I, and Allen Ginsberg in an even wilder way, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/the-beat-generation-that-was-a-vision-that-we-had-john-clellon-holmes-2/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Suppose we suddenly wake up and see that what we thought to be this and that, ain't this and that at all?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/suppose-we-suddenly-wake-up-and-see-that-what-we-thought-to-be-this/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [The bartenders are the regular band of Jack, and the heavenly drummer who looks up to the sky with blue eyes, with a beard,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/the-bartenders-are-the-regular-band-of-jack-and-the-heavenly-drummer/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“Democracy! Bah! When I hear that word I reach for my feather boa!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/democracy-bah-when-i-hear-that-word-i-reach-for-my-feather-boa/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [Kerouac opened a million coffee bars and sold a million pairs of Levis to both sexes. Woodstock rises from his pages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/kerouac-opened-a-million-coffee-bars-and-sold-a-million-pairs-of/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) [Browse all 43 Beat generation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beat-generation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“During this period of his life, Burroughs was seeking a physical utopia, a place where he could live and act as he wanted with interference from neither official state authority nor unofficial moral authority. In fact, he wanted to live in a place where he was out of place and where consequently he would be free.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Greg A. Mullins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-a-mullins/during-this-period-of-his-life-burroughs-was-seeking-a-physical/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beat generation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-a-mullins/during-this-period-of-his-life-burroughs-was-seeking-a-physical/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44a/greg-a-mullins-240626_beat-generation_during-this-period-of-his-life-burroughs_1389357.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44a/greg-a-mullins-240626_beat-generation_during-this-period-of-his-life-burroughs_1389357.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44a/greg-a-mullins-240626_beat-generation_during-this-period-of-his-life-burroughs_1389357.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“During this period of his life, Burroughs was seeking a physical utopia, a place where he could live and act…” — Greg A. Mullins", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Greg A. Mullins", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-a-mullins/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“During this period of his life,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-a-mullins/during-this-period-of-his-life-burroughs-was-seeking-a-physical/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-a-mullins/during-this-period-of-his-life-burroughs-was-seeking-a-physical/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```