Both of these guys have played an influential role in my life. Although I'm nowhere close to them in terms of stature, I feel indebted to them. Seeing Burroughs in person was a genuine high point; having read most of his books (and letters and diaries), I feel a sense of connection, a strange affinity -- as if, in some parallel universe, we used to hang out and swap wry observations. I still have dreams that I run into him at libraries and bookstores, apparently having forgotten that he was scheduled to die in 1996.
While I share many of Burroughs' attitudes and literary inclinations, I'm less certain why I feel a commonality with Bowie. Maybe because of his performance in "The Man Who Fell To Earth"; I feel an instinctual rapport with "aliens" of all sorts. It may be that Bowie is the closest thing to a genuine extraterrestrial that I'm likely to meet in this lifetime. (And to think I missed his Reality Tour stop in Kansas City. Never again.)
2 comments:
Mac,
The picture is from Rolling Stone magazine, February 28, 1974. Bowie and Burroughs were interviewed together. See here...
http://www.teenagewildlife.com/Appearances/Press/1974/0228/rsinterview/
I saw the Reality tour stop in Toronto... magically delicious, truly.