William Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg were leading figures in what became known as the Beat Generation. Burroughs was best known as a writer who wrote experimental novels like "Naked Lunch." Ginsberg was well known as a poet. His poem "Howl" was instrumental in overturning the legal definition of obscenity.
Late in their lives these two men spent some time together at the Burroughs residence in Lawrence, Kansas. Ginsberg recorded their conversations. An associate of Ginsberg's, Steven Taylor, made transcriptions of their conversations. Taylor obtained permission from their estates to finally publish the full transcripts of what was said. They talked about their mutual history, their literary influences, and more mundane subjects like cooking. We feel like flies on the wall eavesdropping on these discussions.
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