William S. Burroughs’ Scathing “Thanksgiving Prayer,” Shot by Gus Van Sant

“Thanks­giv­ing Day, Nov. 28, 1986” first appeared in print in Tor­na­do Alley, a chap­guide pub­lished by William S. Bur­roughs in 1989. Two years lat­er, Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunt­ing, My Personal Pri­vate Ida­ho, Milk) shot a mon­tage that introduced the poem to movie, mak­ing it at the least the sec­ond time the direc­tor adapt­ed the beat author to movie.

For those who’ve seen Bur­roughs use Shake­speare’s face for tar­get prac­tice, or for those who’ve watched The Junky’s Christ­mas, you’ll know that he was­n’t sort to con­ven­tion or tra­di­tion. And there are not any pris­on­ers tak­en right here, as you’ll see above.

For again­floor on Bur­roughs, learn the New York­er piece “The Out­regulation, The additional­or­di­nary lifetime of William S. Bur­roughs.” Discover the textual content for “Thanks­giv­ing Prayer” right here.

Now time for a lit­tle Thanks­giv­ing din­ner.…

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Relat­ed Con­tent:

William S. Bur­roughs Tells the Sto­ry of How He Begin­ed Writ­ing with the Lower-Up Tech­nique

How William S. Bur­roughs Influ­enced Rock and Roll, from the Nineteen Sixties to In the present day

William S. Bur­roughs Educate­es a Free Course on Cre­ative Learn­ing and Writ­ing (1979)

How William S. Bur­roughs Used the Lower-Up Tech­nique to Shut Down London’s First Espres­so Bar (1972)