From Bowie to Cobain, heavy metal to Blade Runner – how the Naked Lunch author changed pop culture The writer William Burroughs was a fringe figure until his 50s, too weird for popular tastes. Part of the original trio of Beat writers alongside Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, he was at once feted and condemned for his work – his 1959 novel Naked Lunch was briefly banned by the city of Boston following an obscenity trial; Norman Mailer testified in its defence.

Source: William S Burroughs and the Cult of Rock’n’Roll by Casey Rae review – countercultural hero