Killing time with the last of the Beats

William Burroughs’ centenary occurs this month. The West Cork-based photographer John Minihan recalls meeting the controversial author in London

THE centenary of the birth of William Burroughs — the self-described junkie and queer author — is being celebrated this year all over America, especially in the town of Lawrence, Kansas, where he died on August 2,1997.

Born on February 5, 1914 in St Louis, Missouri, Burroughs came of a prosperous family, whose wealth stemmed from his grandfather’s invention of the adding machine. After graduating from Harvard, Burroughs lived on his parents’ money, travelling extensively throughout America. Rejected by the US Army, he worked at a variety of jobs. For a spell he was a private detective, a pest controller, a clerk and a factory worker. During this time he developed his interest in drugs and their effects became central to his life and work.