Fever Spores

Inexplicably, William S. Burroughs has not been embraced by the LGBTQI community as one of our own, even though his queerness was central to his life and work. Fever Spores: The Queer Reclamation of William S. Burroughs serves as an appreciation and reclamation project.

Published by Rebel Satori Press

IN THE PRESS

  • "So why has one of the most lionized members of the movement been snubbed by the gay literati? William S. Burroughs had a wife whose life he took, allegedly by accident, but he also waxed poetic about the gay erotic experience. “Calling all boys of the earth…We will show you the sex magic that turns flesh to light. We will free you forever from the womb,” he wrote in 1973. To celebrate Burroughs’s coming out of the literary closet, Alessandro rang Interview for a convo about Beat writers, cruising, and the pragmatics of orgies."

    Interview Magazine

  • "The Queer Reclamation of William S. Burroughs edited by Brian Alessandro and Tom Cardamone. One of the major voices of the Beat Generation gets his due in this finely crafted book that serves as both an appreciation of his work and a strong case for Burroughs to finally be embraced by the LBGTQ+ community. Adding insight are essays and interviews from Burroughs-philes including Blondie's Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, filmmaker David Cronenberg, writer Fran Lebowitz and playwright Tony Kushner. "

    Newsday

  • "There is no question that William S. Burroughs, one of America’s greatest post-modern writers, founding member of the Beat Generation, and iconic influence on everyone from rockstars Patti Smith, and Kurt Cobain to trailblazing gay GenX novelists James Robert Baker and Scott Heim to comic book legend Grant Morrison, was homosexual. Gay culture is so weakly insecure today that they often reject him outright."

    GAYNRD

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    Lambda Literary

Brian Alessandro and Tom Cardamone on Queens Public Library’s Culture Connection