The Stray Bullet: William S. Burroughs in Mexico
- ISBN-10
- 1452940045
- ISBN-13
- 9781452940045
- Category
- Biography & Autobiography
- Pages
- 176
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2013-10-01
- Publisher
- U of Minnesota Press
- Author
- Jorge García-Robles
Description
William S. Burroughs arrived in Mexico City in 1949, having slipped out of New Orleans while awaiting trial on drug and weapons charges that would almost certainly have resulted in a lengthy prison sentence. Still uncertain about being a writer, he had left behind a series of failed business ventures—including a scheme to grow marijuana in Texas and sell it in New York—and an already long history of drug use and arrests. He would remain in Mexico for three years, a period that culminated in the defining incident of his life: Burroughs shot his common-law wife, Joan Vollmer, while playing William Tell with a loaded pistol. (He would be tried and convicted of murder in absentia after fleeing Mexico.) First published in 1995 in Mexico, where it received the Malcolm Lowry literary essay award, The Stray Bullet is an imaginative and riveting account of Burroughs’s formative experiences in Mexico, his fascination with Mexico City’s demimonde, his acquaintances and friendships there, and his contradictory attitudes toward the country and its culture. Mexico, Jorge García-Robles makes clear, was the place in which Burroughs embarked on his “fatal vocation as a writer.” Through meticulous research and interviews with those who knew Burroughs and his circle in Mexico City, García-Robles brilliantly portrays a time in Burroughs’s life that has been overshadowed by the tragedy of Joan Vollmer’s death. He re-creates the bohemian Roma neighborhood where Burroughs resided with Joan and their children, the streets of postwar Mexico City that Burroughs explored, and such infamous figures as Lola la Chata, queen of the city’s drug trade. This compelling book also offers a contribution by Burroughs himself—an evocative sketch of his shady Mexican attorney, Bernabé Jurado.
Get the book
Other editions
Similar books
-
Stray Bullets
By Robert RotenbergBut does anyone know the whole story? Stray Bullets is Robert Rotenberg’s third intricate mystery set on the streets and in the courtrooms of Toronto.
-
Stray Bullets: Other people. Volume three
By David Lapham"Beth and Virginia have relocated to Los Angeles where things only appear more normal...Take a ringside seat for these brutal tales of twisted emotion that will knock you to the mat and have you seeing stars..." --
-
No Stray Bullets: The Making of an American Hero
By Ruth PriceIn No Stray Bullets, Gunnery Sergeant Price's mother Ruth tells the story of a church-going, homeschooled boy who went from the fields and barns of Michigan to fierce battles in the cities of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan.
-
Stray Bullets
By David Lapham"From the brutal schoolyards of a Baltimore suburb, to a perverse desert town where a desperate trio attempts to lay low from the thugs pursuing them, to the bedrooms of Los Angeles where dreams become irrevocably twisted into nightmares, a ...
-
Stray Bullet Baby
By Kei IchikawaChihiro Murakami works at a film advertising firm and looks up to Kiyoharu Honna, the stylish editor of the trendy magazine his company does business with.
-
Old City Hall
By Robert RotenbergDID CANADA'S FAVORITE RADIO HOST COMMIT MURDER Kevin Brace, Canada's most famous radio personality, stands in the door of his luxury condominium, hands covered in blood, and announces to his newspaper delivery man: "I killed her.
-
Stray Bullets
By Niki JilvontaeIn this book we'll explore the first two of four different stories in which lies, murder, chaos, and tragedy is the prominent theme. So, sit back and open your mind to take in the especially important message in this book! That message is.
-
Stray Bullets 2
By Niki JilvontaeThe actions of one person can inadvertently impact a family for years to come. That is a startling reality all the people in the second part of this turbulent story must face.
-
Stray Bullets: Sunshine & Roses Vol. 4
By David LaphamSteal the money and drugs check. Get gone check. It was supposed to be all over. These were supposed to be the good timesÑthe days of sunshine and roses. So why don't they feel that way? Collects STRAY BULLETS: SUNSHINE and ROSES #25-32
-
Innocence of Nihilism
By David LaphamThese are their stories.