Literary Larryville

First off, the boys want to take a second to congratulate Victor Continental on his triumphant return to the city and especially on his "open letter to Lawrence" sketch, in which four local victims of the recession (Arensberg's Shoes, Blue Heron furniture, Palace gift shop, and Don's Steakhouse) team up to tell Larryville citizens to fuck off while skewering every socio-economic group in town with four vicious rants! Good stuff, Victor! I wish I'd written it! (now try to make the rest of the show more consistent).

Now on to today's business.

Larryville has played home to several prominent literary figures over the years. Langston Hughes has certainly recieved his due over the last few years, with a major conference and numerous other social events. But some would say we've never properly honored long-term resident and legendary Beat author William S. Burroughs. Maybe that's about to change.

This years marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Naked Lunch, widely considered his masterwork, and the Pig is hosting a major art event in August called "Naked Leftovers: Paintings by William S. Burroughs." The list of events and refreshments seems suitably odd. In addition to paintings and readings and videos of Burroughs in Larryville, there will be a "dream machine," an "accordion serenade," and "Vodka and Coke, Navy cut players, saltines and brick cheddar, black centipedes" (LJ-World).

Richard: "Well, I actually had to perform a quick Google search here to discover that 'Navy cut players' are cigarettes. Perhaps the smoking ban will be lifted for this very special night?"

Chip: "And the centipedes, of course, are from Naked Lunch. But are they dangerous? Will they bite the hipsters?"

Let's check the LJ-World talkback to see how its participants feel about Burroughs' place in Larryville history:

cato the elder says: "The day that this man decided to move himself and his entourage to Lawrence was the second worst day in this City's history." [he goes on to explain that the worst day was when the smoking ban was instituted]

sigmund (sounding a little like Chip) says: "The naked truth is that only Lawrence could celebrate a misogynistic opiate addicted dope dealer who killed his wife by shooting her in the head."

and JcJayhawk 1 adds: "Never has being a roaming lunatic been so appreciated."