James Grauerholz (born December 14, 1953) is a writer and

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

. He is the

bibliographer Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliography ...

and

literary executor The literary estate of a deceased author consists mainly of the copyright and other intellectual property rights of published works, including film, translation rights, original manuscripts of published work, unpublished or partially completed wo ...

of the estate of

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...

Life and career

Grauerholz was born in

Coffeyville, Kansas Coffeyville is a city in southeastern Montgomery County, Kansas, Montgomery County, Kansas, United States, located along the Verdigris River in the state's Southeast Kansas, southeastern region. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

and attended the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

for a year before dropping out and traveling to New York City. By his own admission, he was fascinated with

Beat Generation The Beat Generation was a literary subculture movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-war era. The bulk of their work was published and popularized by Silent Generatio ...

literature and authors. Grauerholz became acquainted with Burroughs in the 1970s while befriending

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

in New York City. Ginsberg recommended Grauerholz to Burroughs as a possible assistant and their working relationship began in this simple manner, yet grew to be a major factor in the popularization of Burroughs and his works. Grauerholz became Burroughs's friend and business manager until the author's death in 1997. Grauerholz helped edit a trilogy of novels: ''

Cities of the Red Night ''Cities of the Red Night'' is a 1981 novel by American author William S. Burroughs. His first full-length novel since '' The Wild Boys'' (1971), it is part of his final trilogy of novels, known as The Red Night Trilogy, followed by '' The Place o ...

'' (1981), '' The Place of Dead Roads'' (1985) and '' The Western Lands'' (1987). He acted as Burroughs's business manager, spearheading reading tours in the 1980s and 1990s, and wrote editorial copy for '' Interzone'', a compilation of stories. He quit working for Burroughs and returned to Kansas in the early 1980s, and this quickly led Burroughs to relocate to the Midwestern university town of

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas River, Kansas and Waka ...

, to work more closely with Grauerholz again. Up until Burroughs' death in 1997, Grauerholz supported him, getting him reading engagements, commercial advertisements (

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

shoes), and parts in films (''

Drugstore Cowboy ''Drugstore Cowboy'' is a 1989 American crime drama film directed by the American filmmaker Gus Van Sant. Written by Van Sant and Daniel Yost and based on an autobiographical novel by James Fogle, the film stars Matt Dillon, Kelly Lynch, Heather ...

''), as well as recording Burroughs' readings. He looked after Burroughs's physical needs as well, taking him to a

methadone Methadone, sold under the brand names Dolophine and Methadose among others, is a synthetic opioid agonist used for chronic pain and also for opioid dependence. It is used to treat chronic pain, and it is also used to treat addiction to heroin ...

clinic in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

weekly, as well as providing him with companionship and acting as a kind of social secretary to the many people that came to Kansas to meet Burroughs . Grauerholz wrote biographical sketches to a Burroughs reader '' Word Virus'', and edited a posthumous release of Burroughs diaries '' Last Words: The Final Journals of William S. Burroughs.'' Grauerholz worked on a full-length biography on Burroughs, but reportedly handed his writings and other material in the project to

Barry Miles Barry Miles (born 21 February 1943) is an English author known for his participation in and writing on the subjects of the 1960s London underground and counterculture. He is the author of numerous books and his work has also regularly appeare ...

in March 2010. The book, "''Call Me Burroughs: A Life''", was published in 2014, with Miles as the sole author.

Works as editor or co-editor of William Burroughs

*''

'', 1981 *'' The Place of Dead Roads'', 1985 *'' The Western Lands'', 1987 *'' My Education: A Book of Dreams'', 1995 *'' Interzone'', 1985 *'' Last Words: The Final Journals of William S. Burroughs'', 2000 ;Audio productions *''Naked Lunch'' (Warner, 1995) *''Let Me Hang You'' (Khannibalism, 2016) both recordings produced by Grauerholz and

Hal Wilner Hal Willner (April 6, 1956 – April 7, 2020) was an American music producer working in recording, films, television, and live events. He was best known for assembling tribute albums and events featuring a wide variety of artists and musical sty ...

with music by

Wayne Horvitz Wayne Horvitz (born 1955) is an American composer, keyboardist and record producer. He came to prominence in the Downtown scene of 1980s and '90s New York City, where he met his future wife, the singer, songwriter and pianist Robin Holcomb. He ...

Bill Frisell William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. Frisell first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts ...

and

Eyvind Kang Eyvindur Y. Kang (born 23 June 1971) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. His primary instrument is viola, but has also performed on violin, tuba, keyboards and others. In addition to his solo work, Kang has worked extensively wit ...

Works as author

*Grauerholz, James and '' Ira Silverberg''. (2000) '' Word Virus: The William S. Burroughs Reader''.

Grove Press Grove Press is an United States of America, American Imprint (trade name), publishing imprint that was founded in 1947. Imprints include: Black Cat, Evergreen, Venus Library, and Zebra. Barney Rosset purchased the company in 1951 and turned it in ...

. (Editor and author of biographical sketches preceding each chapter). *Grauerholz, James. ''The Death of Joan Vollmer Burroughs: What Really Happened?''. American Studies Department, University of Kansas
Online.

References

External links

at Beats in Kansas. William Burroughs and James Grauerholz, his editor, heir and adopted son, at Burroughs' Lawrence, KS home in 1997, the last year of Burroughs' life.
Author Barry Miles recalls relationships with Beatles, Burroughs and Swinging London
March 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Grauerholz, James 1953 births Living people Beat Generation people People from Coffeyville, Kansas William S. Burroughs American book editors