100 years after his birth, William S. Burroughs

ST. LOUIS — Even sober, William S. Burroughs had visions. As a young child, he saw a green reindeer the size of a cat. Another time, he woke to see tiny men scrambling among his building blocks, he said.

“He was one of those children who never really got over the magical kingdom. Part of him stayed there,” says biographer Barry Miles.

Burroughs’ kingdom, literally speaking, began in a comfortable house in the Central West End of St. Louis, at 4664 Pershing Ave. (known as “Berlin Avenue” before World War I). Later, the family would flee the smoggy city for the suburb of Ladue. Over his life, Burroughs traveled much of the global and found myriad substances to induce more visions and dreams, which he recorded in books or used as inspiration for art of one kind or another.

The 100th anniversary of Burroughs’ birth was on Feb. 5, 1914, and his literary kingdom is international, a destination for both scholars and modern beatniks. Novels such as “Naked Lunch,” “Junky” and “Queer” retain an outlaw reputation more than 50 years after he wrote them. The Burroughs oeuvre enthralls dedicated members.

“His work still has the power to shock, which is pretty hard these days,” Miles says.

Miles’ 700-page biography shows how Burroughs’ life was mirrored in his writing while warning that some of Burroughs’ tales were likely exaggerated.

One thing that wasn’t exaggerated was Burroughs’ addictions, even though he lived until 83.

“Considering what he did to his body over the years, it’s a miracle he survived as long as he did,” Miles said in a telephone interview. Much of Miles’ knowledge of Burroughs and other Beat writers is first hand: The British writer knew him in the 1960s in London and lived at Allen Ginsberg’s commune in New York. Miles, a member of the underground himself and producer of music and poetic happenings, has also written biographies of Paul McCartney, Jack Kerouac, Ginsberg and others. Miles is also the author of “In the Sixties,” “In the Seventies” and “London Calling: A Countercultural History of London since 1945.”