“I have never understood the impulse of some Burroughsians to quarantine the life and work of their idol. Why this desire to make Burroughs unique, to focus on his solitary nature, to deny his influences and origins? Me, I want the virus to spread and infect every aspect of our lives. If I can tie Burroughs and his work to sentimental Victorian romance novels (after all, he is connected through Nuttall to Victorian Boy’s Magazines), I will be happy to do it. To get the full force of the Burroughs fix, it is all about set and setting. Check out the performance schedule for the American Theatre of Poets in 1965. You’ll see Burroughs reading there on St. Valentine’s Day of course, but look at all the other performances as well. Judson Theater dance people, Black Mountain College alums, Beat poets, New York School writers, avant-garde musicians, Art Happenings, Fluxus…