THE DAILY BEAT: Happy Birthday, William S. Burroughs

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Happy Birthday, William S. Burroughs

Today is William S. Burroughs' birthday. Daily Beat readers need no introduction to Bill, who was Old Bull Lee in On The Road and appeared in several other of Jack Kerouac's books.*

We've mentioned Bill over 30 times in past posts. For example, see this synchronicitous post on his birthday in 2009. It's kind of weird that Neal Cassady died the day before Bill's birthday. Or maybe it's not weird at all. As Bill reportedly said,

A paranoid is someone who knows a little of what's going on.

Happy Birthday, Bill.

*Check out Empty Mirror Books for a useful Kerouac character key.

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Reviews of The Beat Handbook

Gerald Nicosia, author of the acclaimed Kerouac biography Memory Babe, said The Beat Handbook is "full of Jack's heart."

Jared Randall, author of the excellent book of poetry, Apocryphal Road Code, said this about The Beat Handbook: "Sometimes a book comes along at just the right time. In my wandering pack of experiences, I find they often do. Enter The Beat Handbook by Rick Dale."

Kenneth Morris, Kerouacian extraordinaire, said this:
"I just finished reading Rick Dale's beautiful utterance and call to action of Kerouac mind-set and zen sensibilities. It made me laugh and reflect on my own life and road I have naturally grooved into after absorbing the Kerouac canon. The road less traveled always had my name on it. And that has made all the difference. The Beat Handbook 100 Days of Kerouactions reaffirms the attitudes and ideology that made the Beats and Kerouac the important men of ideas that America (and the world) thirsted for, needed, and swallowed whole. Beautiful, absorbing, Top Ten whipsmart from my articulate, tender-hearted friend and fellow traveler. Highly recommended."