With a plan to “just say it like it comes pops,” William S. Burroughs writes to Allen Ginsberg about the “practical” people of the literary world, love, Buddhism, his illness, and the “intelligentsia” of Tangiers.
Friday Morning, July 16 [1954]
Dear Allen,
The doctor came today and tapped my ankle, drawing out a jigger glass full of pus. This is a secondary infection which will necessitate a course of penicillin. The rheumatism is seemingly cured. I can consider myself very lucky in that I left an acute attack of rheumatic fever for a week without treatment and suffered no damage to the heart. Many people are invalided for life by such an attack, which leads me to observe that I do generally have good luck in matters of basic importance.
Just sent Kiki to the Embassy, and he brought back a long letter from you which has roused me from this lethargy. I think your suggestion of writing after receiving a letter is a good one and will tend to avoid confusion, and to come closer to the ideal of letter writing, which is to communicate with someone not there. I will follow this practice in the future.
With your letter I received a note (Regular mail. She used to write air mail. Now I’m not worth an air mail stamp. There should be a special class of mail that costs almost nothing, but is subject to get there a year late if it gets there, to be opened and read and commented on by anyone who handles it; in short to every delay and indignity.) from the idiotic agent who is supposed to be handling Junkie in England. She says: “We have now received letter…making clear that you have signed contract with Ace Books that they shall have the sole right to dispose of foreign rights.” I quote from the answer I am writing her: “You will recall I offered to send you a copy of my contract with Ace Books. Had you accepted this offer and read the contract the present misunderstanding would have been avoided.”
It seems to me, Allen, that the so-called practical people, agents, publishers, lawyers and so forth are being overtaken by a form of psychotic stupidity. Obviously the first step would have been to ascertain whether the rights were already reserved through examining the contract with Ace Books and communicating with Ace Books. But this woman, when I offered to send her a copy of the contract, said it was not necessary since “Everything is now quite clear.” On the basis of what facts this condition of lucidity had been predicted I was unable to surmise. I decided it was one of those mysteries of the business world that we dreamers can not hope to grasp…
And Phyllis Jackson losing Jack [Kerouac]’s manuscript. What is wrong with these people? If I ever launch a commercial enterprise I shall stipulate only those without business experience need apply for work. I would not care to struggle with a staff of idiots.
Now your letter: I’m going to experiment: I just lit up, and will say it like it comes pops. Just took three drags of the righteous gage, man, twenty-three skidoo the joint is jumping…
Your aphorisms about love are…That is, I concur wholeheartedly…Observation has convinced me that salvation lies not in receiving love but in giving it. A persistent and disastrously mistaken goal is expressed in the formula: “I will be saved if someone loves me.” In short I agree with what you say. However, I am puzzled to know how much of this is to be regarded as general observation on the Phenomena (Oh God! Am I going to start referring to love as The Phenomena? Sounds like some great man’s arch and rather nauseous private letters.)…
Tibetan Buddhism is extremely interesting. Dig it if you have not done so. I had some mystic experiences and convictions when I was practicing Yoga. That was 15 years ago. Before I knew you. My final decision was that Yoga was no solution for a Westerner and I disapprove of all practice of Neo-Buhudsim. (Spell it different every time and maybe it will spell itself right. I went to a progressive school where we never learned to spell.) Yoga should be practiced, yes, but not as final, a solution, but rather as we study history and comparative cultures. The metaphysics of Jiu-Jitsu is interesting, and derives from Zen. If there is a Jiu-Jitsu club in Frisco, join. It is worthwhile and one of the best forms of exercise, because it is predicated on relaxation rather than straining. I am anxious to read all the material on Cayce, and will do so. But that must wait.
My ankle is still swollen. The doctor says some restriction of movement may persist, may in fact be permanent. The thing was unfortunately neglected…It occurs to me that diagnosing could be done very well by a thinking machine. You feed in the symptoms and out come all the possible conditions that could produce the syndrome. For example, Doctor Perone never thought of rheumatic fever because the rheumatic symptoms were hardly perceptible. Thinking back now, I recall joint pain at the time…
For intellectual stimulation Tangiers is nowhere. There are a few writers here, mostly friends of Bowles, who seemingly want nothing to do with me. It has occurred to me that Bowles perhaps wishes to avoid contact with me because of my narcotic associations, fearing possible hassles with customs inspection and authorities in general if he is known to be on familiar terms with me—guilt by association. I don’t know. But Tangiers is a small place and he has quite pointedly avoided me. He and Brion Gysin, a painter, and an assortment of other painters and writers. In short, the intelligentsia of Tangiers has put me in Coventry…