New York: Museum Pieces

William Burroughs' Bowery apartment, 1950s and 2010s, from John Short's collection of 'now and then' photographs, Unforgotten New York.

Fagburn: Happy Halloween!

I am just going outside, and may be some time.

'Shot a bunch of holes in this goddam pumpkin bastard...'
x

Morocco: Unbound

A British man flew home from Marrakech last week after being jailed for 'homosexual acts'. There was a time though when Morocco was renowned as a haven for gay Americans and Britons who fled restrictions in their own countries to take advantage of its relaxed atmosphere...

BBC News Magazine follow in the dusty footprints of Bowles, Burroughs, Ginsberg, Orton et al.

Although some think the writers were rebelling against a soulless, suburban McCarthyite America, [John] Hopkins says it was more straightforward. "They were after boys and drugs. That's what drew them. The Moroccans were charming, attractive, intelligent and tolerant. They had to put up with a lot from us."

So why did Morocco, an ostensibly devout Islamic country, allow homosexuality to thrive? The author Barnaby Rogerson says it is a society that is full of paradoxes.

"It is... a place where all the four different cornerstones of culture: Berber-African, Mediterranean, Arabic or Islamic, share an absolute belief in the abundant sexuality of all men and women, who are charged with a sort of personal volcano of 'fitna', which threatens family, society and state with sexually derived chaos at any time," he says. The word fitna, he suggests, "means something like 'charm, allure, enchantment, temptation, dissent, unrest, riot, rebellion' or all of these at the same time."

Joe Orton, pictured in 1967, with a helpful young tour-guide.

That intro is so silly though. 

Morocco is still a haven for gay American and British tourists.

The arrests of Ray Cole and his often forgotten friend Jamal Wald Nass for 'homosexual acts' last week were exceptional.

That is why they - or rather the British Cole's - were so newsworthy. 

It is ridiculous to suggest men are routinely arrested just for having gay sex, or that there is some homophobic clampdown going on. 

Can you tell me the last time a British or American gay tourist was arrested?

Random: Question For The Day

Have you lost all capacity for rational thought?

Endless stupid fucking conspiracy fuckwits ranting on about how they know how that plane came down. Twitter at its worst. There is no fucking evidence yet, ergo you literally can't fucking have a clue about anything, you stupid fuck. Never mind anyone who might actually know anything about such things. 'Was it Putin? Cause he Hitler!' Oh fucking hell. Here we fucking go again. Maybe the plane just fell out the sky. I mean, who knows really? Maybe it was being flown by mice on a suicide mission to avenge the Cheese Wars?

Why not phone up David Icke? 

Anyway, clearly the idiots - once more - have won.

Well done WORLD!

Marcus Ewert: The Teenage Boyfriend Of The Beat Generation

Ewert in Ginsberg's bed.

To hear him say it, Marcus Ewert was a young man on a mission. In 1988 he was living in suburban Atlanta, just another isolated gay teen who spent much of his free time dreaming of a way out. Unlike other boys in his predicament, though, the then-17-year-old was ambitious and strategic. He was desperate to immerse himself in the literary scene, and being a fan of the beat writers, he zoned in on two of its most prominent figures: Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs.

“Allen and Burroughs were still alive and they were both gay, and in their work it was pretty explicit that they liked teenage boys,” says Ewert, now 43. “Allen has all these poems about sleeping with boys in Naropa, which is where I realized I could go to meet them. So, I was like, Perfect, I know what to do. …Allen and Burroughs teach there? You don’t have to tell me twice.”

...

“I’d worked out this little phrase that I wanted to say to him: ‘Hello, Mr. Ginsberg, my name is Mark Ewert, and I would like to make you breakfast, lunch or dinner sometime,’” he says. “The idea was, Oh, that’s cute, I’m going to be making him a meal. That’s nice, everyone likes that. It sounds very sweet and devoted, and kind of implies that I’m going to make you a meal the morning after.”

Vocativ.

Mr Ginsberg once made a pass at  Fagburn, btw...

Fagburn: Life

100

Had Old Bill's number.

Never called him.

A great regret.

x

William Burroughs: 100

No book has ever done you justice, Bill.

The Telegraph pays tribute.

Unhappy abysmal so-called birthday, you miserable old asshole!

We need guns. x

Andy Warhol: Gay Pride 1976-1987

From a collection of Andy's photos at The Photographers' Gallery, London.
There is a separate simultaneous exhibition of William Burroughs' photos.

PS Oh, and David Lynch.

William S Burroughs: A Thanksgiving Prayer

Good night!
x

Fagburn: But I Read It In The Paper!

I never cease to be amazed at the things that people will believe without question.
Princess Diana banned from playing Freddie Mercury at Sochi Olympics!
It depresses the fuck out of me some days.
What is point?
In my darkest moments I start to worry that people just prefer being lied to.
Back tomorrow?

David Bowie: "Golden Years"

A few years back I had an amusing email exchange with Angie Bowie when I was trying to fix up an interview.
She broke it off with the immortal line that she was bored with talking about David Bowie. 
Anyway, I'm happy to report that she's in-no-way bonkers, nor has she ever tried to trade on David's name nor cash in on his success.
She's also a reliable source of information on the Dame back in the early days, and - by golly - she's never told any of these stories in the Sun Sunday before has she?  
If you haven't OD-ed on DB coverage in the media recently, you might want to read this Guardian piece - When Bowie Met Burroughs - by Jon Savage instead.
A strange title, as it's actually an overview of his glittering career and - though it's been a cliche in all the recent safety blanket coverage - his terrific cultural impact.
Whatever it's a rare interesting and insightful piece amongst a tidal wave of tired old guff.  
Most papers seem to think they can get away with stars reminisces of the golden years, or by filling a few pages with some old photos and "insights" cribbed from the book accompanying the upcoming V&A exhibition David Bowie Is...
(It opens in a fortnight - interesting timing seeing as no-one knew about this comeback). 
The Sunday Times Magazine has lifted a whole article from the book, Oh! You Pretty Thing, by... Camille Paglia.
Can't believe anyone still takes this silly old fraud seriously anymore.
For once be grateful if you can't get behind the Murdoch paywall.    

William Burroughs: Naked Lunch

"The title means exactly what the words say: naked lunch, a frozen moment when everyone sees what is on the end of every fork."

William S Burroughs: Vs Fagburn

I'm an anarchist, so I think people should only compete against themselves.
I'd have won, though.