A Subterranean Celebration
How the 6 Gallery reading in San Francisco on 7 October 1955 changed the counterculture.
David S. Wills
David S. Wills is the author of books about William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, and Hunter S. Thompson. His latest book is called ‘A Remarkable Collection of Angels: A History of the 6 Gallery Reading.’
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10 articles
The Dualism of Duluoz
An eagerly awaited new edition of Gerald Nicosia’s splendid Kerouac biography provides the definitive portrait of a great artist and a profoundly troubled man.
Murakami On Writing
In his new book, Murakami attempts to set the limits of what he wants people to know about him—and that isn’t much.
Napoleon in Rags
Jann Wenner’s attempt to set the record straight only confirms the unattractive picture painted by his critics.
“A Pleasure to Burn”: We Are Closer to Bradbury’s Dystopia Than Orwell’s or Huxley’s
For decades, it has been common to call authoritarian new laws, norms, or government actions “Orwellian.” In 1984, George Orwell so brilliantly portrayed a nightmarish future that his name became synonymous with almost anything one wishes to describe as oppressive. Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, meanwhile, provided a rather
Cancelling the Beat Generation
Almost from its inception, the Beat Generation seemed to be doomed to failure. In and around Columbia University, a ragtag group of bohemians coalesced based upon an odd array of mutual interests. Two of them were homosexuals, one bisexual, and all were interested in drugs and subversive literature. William S.
Huxley, Burroughs, and the Church of Scientology
Like it or not, hidden within those influential texts are the bizarre jargon and lunatic assertions of a mendacious madman.
Fifty Years of Fear and Loathing
Finding out the truth about any aspect of Hunter Thompson’s life is frustrating given his propensity for self-mythologising.
Freak Power: The Ballot or the Bomb—A Review
Freak Power is a fascinating look into the heart of a grassroots political campaign during a violent era in American history, as one man channelled the rage and confusion of a maligned subculture into a surprisingly coherent and subversive political movement.
Decadence and Depravity in Louisville, Kentucky
The publication of his electrifying dispatch from the Kentucky Derby on May 2nd, 1970, had announced him as among the most innovative and powerful voices in American letters.