William S. Burroughs & Yony Leyser: Men Within

A Man Within is the upcoming documentary about the life of famous writer, artist and icon William S. Burroughs, the first made since his passing in 1997.  The film, which will have its world premiere at Slamdance 2010, aims to get beneath the character of the legendary man who has had an undeniable influence on countless artists from those associated with the Beat era to modern day writers, artists and musicians.

Burroughs died at the age of 83 in August of 1997 from complications after a heart attack (amazingly only four months after lifelong friend Allen Ginsberg passed away) and was buried in the same place as his birth, St. Louis.

The film’s maker, Yony Leyser, depicts how Burroughs had struggled as a person and A Man Within explores that issue, scratching away the tough surface that Burroughs projected, sometimes leaving a stark and naked portrayal of the legend.

“In his life, he was viewed as this monster in society:  he killed his wife, he’s cold and sadistic, he’s a junkie, he shunned his son,” Leyser says of Burroughs.  But Leyser dug deeper than the myths and the general conception of Burroughs, examining instead the tenderness and the man beneath the public persona.

Leyser, who is also a writer and photographer, began making documentaries and films when he was 16, his first being Bill & Anna, a love story involving a drug-addicted prostitute.  That being said, it goes hand in hand that Leyser was the correct man to tackle the task of making a posthumous documentary about Burroughs.

Leyser moved to Lawrence, KS (the same town where Burroughs lived in his later years), after being kicked out of art school.  He first came across the works of Burroughs from a friend and read Naked Lunch on the beaches of Lake Michigan.  “In high school, when I read Naked Lunch, I couldn’t believe that something like that had been written and that it was still so relevant.  I chose to do [Burroughs] because while Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac were very fascinating, I feel as if I kind of outgrew my interest in them as I became older,” says Leyser of why he chose Burroughs over other Beat-era writers and artists.  “Burroughs was also a lot more versatile, he did a lot of collaboration with people and influenced a lot of the culture I really respect.  I think his work will definitely stand the test of time.”

Leyser began working on A Man Within by interviewing and speaking to around thirty of Burroughs’ friends and those loosely connected to him, gradually working his way up the pyramid.  He sort of fell into it, and after interviewing Patricia Marvin, a woman who owned a salvage yard and helped in taking care of Burroughs during his later years, he was invited to accompany her to upstate New York to visit Charles Plymell, who suggested he interview some old friends of Burroughs, Sonic Youth (members of whom are working on a soundtrack for the film, although Leyser was not at liberty to discuss any details). 

Featuring never before seen footage and photographs of Burroughs, Leyser interviews some of his rather prolific friends and artists, amongst them being Patti Smith (which includes footage of her playing guitar and singing for him – she also contributed music), Iggy Pop, directors Gus Van Sant and David Cronenberg, Grant Hart, Jello Biafra, Genesis P-Orridge and fellow Beatniks Diane Di Prima and Amiri Baraka.  He shows us how those who were close to Burroughs viewed him—the person underneath the junky, the outlaw and the hardman.

“People really wanted to get this film made and they saw that I was an eager and young person.  It was shocking that they had so much faith in me,” says Leyser, who has also recently shown some of his photographs in an exhibit called Daily Life Sucks, in which he captures punks, anarchists, transgendered and so-called “other outsiders” going about their lives.

Leyser’s work as a photographer is as important to him as his film work and it all ties together.“People outside of what is called the ‘mainstream’ have always interested me.”  He has plans to publish a photobook and fictionalized memoir based on his travels to places such as Freetown Christiana, an anarchist village in Copenhagen and IDA, a communal farm in Tennessee made up of different types of people, including the homosexual and transgendered.  “Christiana is full of people who have just completely dropped out of society and there are thousands of them there, people dropping out of a basically capitalist culture, and while William [Burroughs] was definitely not a dropout, he was an outsider and I wanted to push the envelope that he was an outsider who came into the overground, underground and middleground consciousness and became very famous,” he says. “I don’t know if ‘outsider’ is the correct term,” he continues,  “Because maybe to people in Christiana and IDA it’s the businessmen, the capitalists, the people who don’t care about anything else and work at corporations.  You know, maybe the way life should be lived is the way they are.  I think if you’re looking at minorities and majorities, these people are a minority, but to me they are definitely living a more interesting life.”

Leyser’s outlook on “outsider culture” definitely provides us insight into Burroughs and perhaps why Leyser has gone about the task of documenting his life so admirably and tastefully.  “I think what’s important is [Burroughs’] sharp accuracy at pin-pointing the hypocrisy of society and the American mainstream that we were stuck in when he wrote, and in a way we’re still stuck in it now,” he says.

Photos:

Page:  [1]  2  Next >>

Comments on this article

Posted on January 8, 2010 by ross

I am anxious to see this film to say the least. A friend of mine left central Kansas to move to Lawrence years ago. we are both fans and he loved my crummy impressions of Burroughs excerpts. Well to make a long story less long. a few years passed and my buddy was able to go shooting with William and he sent me photos of them together! This would be a tough film to make, Mr Burroughs covered a lot of ground in his years.

Posted on January 9, 2010 by Patricia Elliott Marvin

I am so glad so many of William's friends gave their time and opened up to Yoni. It was a risk. One never knows how ones information will be used and it is often abused. William's celebrity did not reflect the depth, the honesty, and the artistry that was Bill. I think the documentary will be a slice through several layers of the onion.

Posted on January 19, 2010 by Jane

It'll be marvelous! Absolutely speechless for this initiative, I congrat this young talented director and look forward to hear abt this work here in Brazil.

Posted on January 27, 2010 by Ginger Eades

I am looking forward to seeing Yony's documentary on WSB. How fortuitous it was that Yony traveled with Patricia and met Charles Plymell in Cherry Valley. Plymell's suggestion for Yony to interview Sonic Youth and other friends mutual to him and Burroughs seems to be the spark that coupled well with Yony's passion and creativity. A wonderful documentary has been ignited and the memory of WSB will glow brightly.

Posted on January 30, 2010 by Kelley

Good article, very interesting, well done Ryan. I look forward to seeing the documentary!

Add a comment

Please keep your comments on the subject of the article.
We will delete your comment if it is racist, misogynistic, sexist, bigoted or just plain lame.
No HTML allowed!