{"product_id":"the-lost-years-of-william-robert-earl-johnson-9781585445479","title":"The Lost Years of William S. Burroughs: Beats in South Texas","description":"The sometimes raunchy, often legally dubious New York and Mexican exploits of William S. Burroughs, one of the godfathers of the \"Beat\" generation, are well known. Less familiar are his experiences in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, where for several years he was a cotton farmer (while avoiding the law in New York). This intriguing chapter in the famous author's life is thoroughly recounted for the first time in Rob Johnson's new book. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e From 1946 to 1949 Bill Burroughs prepared himself for the writing of his first books by, among other pursuits, raising marijuana and opium poppies and entertaining Beat visitors such as Allen Ginsberg and Neal Cassady at his farm in New Waverly, Texas. Less known, though, are stories about his other farm, a \"serious\" fifty-acre spread, in the Valley near Edinburg, described in the 1977 edition of \u003ci\u003eJunky\u003c\/i\u003e. Here he raised legal crops such as cotton, carrots, and peas. Other Beat writers move casually in and out of the narrative, which includes the \"William Tell\" episode in Mexico in which Burroughs fatally shot his wife, who had placed a drink glass on her head as a target. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e As a setting in Burroughs's work, the Valley is central in \u003ci\u003eJunky \u003c\/i\u003e(1953), \"Tiger in the Valley\" (an unpublished 1955 short story), and, to a less extent, \u003ci\u003eQueer\u003c\/i\u003e (1985). But the Valley recurs as a setting in almost all of his books, in some form or another. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Rob Johnson conducted over forty hours of interviews with people in South Texas and Mexico who knew Burroughs, his business partner Kells Elvins, and other \"South Texas Beats.\" Johnson paints a picture of a fascinating place, time, and people: South Texas and Northern Mexico in the post-World War II period and the Anglos, Mexican Americans, and Mexicans who lived there.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Robert Earl Johnson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1585445479\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781585445479\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Texas A\u0026amp;M University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/01\/2006\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 200\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.84lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.96w x 0.65d","brand":"Robert Earl Johnson","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47965283451135,"sku":"9781585445479","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_1096609d-9e62-4963-aef3-49dfbac1c905.jpg?v=1767279495","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-lost-years-of-william-robert-earl-johnson-9781585445479","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}