Capturing a queer icon
In 1959, influential postmodern author, queer icon and reluctant poster-boy for the Beat generation William S. Burroughs released his seminal novel Naked Lunch.
Half a century later, the book planted the first seeds of inspiration for young US filmmaker Yony Leyser to embark on a five-year labour of love, the exhaustive feature-length documentary William S. Burroughs: A Man Within, screening as part of the Sydney Underground Film Festival.
“I first learned about Burroughs in high school, when I was stuck reading boring puritanical prescribed reading. My friend was reading Naked Lunch, and as soon as I started reading it, I was shocked,” the 25-year old told the Star Observer from his new home in Berlin.
“I was just blown away that people could be that open and funny and critical.”
Leyser now counts several subjects featured in the film, including serial talking head John Waters, as friends. Waters’ time on screen is particularly illuminating, as he talks about Burroughs’ legacy as one of the first to embrace the word ‘queer’.
“I can absolutely relate to that,” Leyser admitted.
“I consider myself queer, not gay, so I don’t really feel I fit into gay culture, as it were. The film focuses on his sexuality a lot, and his amazing ability to open up public consciousness to queer culture.”
info: www.suff.com.au
I first read the Naked Lunch at university in the mid sixties even though it rang a lot of bells regrettably I did not follow its lead and remained in the closet for another twenty years. In the end Burrough’s books uncompromising raw honesty did help me and it remains, for me at least, one of the seminal books of the period.