The Thousands

If the late novelist William Burroughs sat you on his knee for some words of advice then your mother might have something to say about it. Not because he’s six feet under, but because the beatnik legend corrupted a fair few minds in his time, spending his last opiate-addicted years shooting spray paint cans onto blank canvases. What your Mum couldn’t deny is that the guy knew how to write. Along with his contemporaries Kerouac and Ginsberg, Burroughs defined the gritty freedom and blunt, lyrical honesty which characterised the Beat Generation. Step into their world with this doco, which is introduced by subcultural go-to guy Jack Sergeant. – JB