Chat with David Ohle, a Lawrence author who recently completed “Cursed from Birth,” a biography of William S. Burroughs Jr., son of the famed beat writer who lived in Lawrence during the latter part of his life. The book, published by Soft Skull Press, is a compilation of letters, writings and interviews that paint a more complete image of Billy Burroughs. Ohle’s previous books include “Motorman” and “The Age of Sinatra.” He has been published in Esquire, Harper’s, TriQuarterly and the Paris Review. Read the article about Ohle’s new book.

rcatoni

Did Billy ever meet his half-sister Julie? This is another person I have never seen interviewed or followed up upon.

jocknavals

When will you begin work on Lou’s biography?

chucknoblet

Does your book have any information about whatever became of Billy’s wife Karen after they divorced? I live in Lawrence now but am originally from Savannah, and I’m Jewish. Just wondering if Billy and his wife attended any synagogues while living in Savannah.

Moderator

Hi, everybody. Let’s get started today. Our guest is David Ohle, author of “Cursed from Birth: The Short, Unhappy Life of William S. Burroughs Jr.” The book was the subject of a feature in Sunday’s Journal-World. You can read that story here.

I’m Terry Rombeck, a features reporter at the Journal-World, and I’ll be your moderator.

Moderator

Let’s try that link again:
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/sep/24/cursed_birth/

David Ohle

Hi.

Moderator

In working on that story, many people I mentioned it to were surprised William S. Burroughs had a son. Do you run into that much?

David Ohle

Yes,a lot, even colleagues in the KU English Dept.,who you’d expect to know that. Even some Burroughs fans don’t know about Billy, or his sad life and ugly fate.

Moderator

Obviously, the book pieces together a lot of information from a lot of sources. How would you characterize the process – was it tedious that way, or was there anything that seemed like an absolute goldmine of information?

David Ohle

Going through the 3 boxes at Ohio State that contained Billy’s materials was all news to me. I had no Idea what Billy’s life had been like in detail. There were lots of surprises, including the fact that the novel I was supposed to be editing was a slim 30 pages,unfinished, unedited, and just wouldn’t do for publication. But this led me tolook through what else was there. That was the real gold mine, even the blood drops on some of his papers, his hospital bracelet and crematory bill.

Moderator

Let’s get to some submitted questions. Feel free to post more during the chat.

cutny

Why are you referring to him as Billy Burroughs, rather than William, the name he went by personally and professionally?

David Ohle

Virtually everyone called him Billy, even his father.

iluvovaltine

How did Junior find fulfillment? What were his successes?

David Ohle

He thought of himself as a writer above all. He published two novels, Speed and Kentucky Ham. That was as close to fulfillment as he got. Although it did little to erase his self-image, which was weak and negative in the extreme.

rcatoni

I would like to know what happened to Billy’s wife; if she is still living , what type of life she has led and if she has ever given an interview.
Might I also suggest you do a Corso biography as no one else has?

David Ohle

As far as I know his wife, Karen Perry, is still alive. She had nothing to do with Billy after their divorce. We made attempts to contact her when the book was in process, but failed.

I’ll give some thought to the Corso book. I met him once in Austin, TX. A total whacko, hard to deal with. In some ways Billy modeled himself after Gregory.

Moderator

Here’s a question about Billy’s famous father.

logrithmic

I’ve read Naked Lunch. It was a very difficult read and I had trouble understanding the vocabulary he employed. If I were to venture into a second book, is there one that you might recommend which might be a bit easier to comprehend?

David Ohle

Yes,I would suggest Junky, then Queer. Both are straighforward autobiographical novels, easy to read. Nothing like his later works.

Moderator

One final question for the day…Since you knew William Burroughs when he lived here in Lawrence, do you have any favorite memories of spending time with him, or anything in particular that sticks in your mind from those days?

David Ohle

Lots of memories of him. He was, as you might guess, one of the most interesting people you’d ever likely meet. One unforgettable moment was seeing William and Allen Ginsberg early one morning in their pajamas trying to chase raccoons out of William’s kitchen with a walking cane. The coons came in through the cat door and opened the catfood drawer and helped themselves almost every night.

Moderator

David, thanks for answering questions today. The book is available at many online booksellers and several in town.

David Ohle

Thanks for the thoughtful questions. It’s been fun.