Victor Bockris (born 1949) is an English-born, U.S.-based

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, primarily

biographies A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

of artists, writers, and musicians. He has written about

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

(and

The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise w ...

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

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 ...

Terry Southern Terry Southern (May 1, 1924 – October 29, 1995) was an American novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and university lecturer, noted for his distinctive satirical style. Part of the Paris postwar literary movement in the 1950s and a companion to ...

, Blondie,

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album '' Horses''. Called the "punk poe ...

, and

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...

. He also helped write the autobiographies of

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...

and Bebe Buell. Bockris was born in

Sussex, England Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English C ...

in 1949; his family moved to

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

when he was four years old. He attended the British boarding school Rugby and Philadelphia's Central High School. He graduated from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

with a BA in Literature in 1971. While still in Philadelphia, he founded Telegraph Books along with Andrew Wylie and Aram Saroyan. He also published two books of his own poetry, ''In America'' and ''Victor Bockris''. He moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1973 to work with Andrew Wiley as a writing team called Bockris-Wiley. They interviewed the 100 most intelligent people in the world according to them. In 1974 they published ''Ali: Fighter, Poet, Prophet'', which was the first study of Ali as a writer and a rapper. Between 1977 and 1983 he worked with William Burroughs at his Bunker on the Bowery. He also worked with Andy Warhol at the Factory and published many pieces in Warhol's magazine ''

Interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...

''. As well as ''Interview'', Bockris also published work in ''

High Times ''High Times'' is an American monthly magazine (and cannabis brand) that advocates the Legalization of non-medical cannabis in the United States, legalization of cannabis as well as other counterculture ideas. The magazine was founded in 1974 by ...

'', '' Gadfly'' and ''

Drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

''. Warhol wrote in his book ''Exposures'' ndy Warhol Books/Grosset & Dunlap, A Filmways Company publishers, New York 1979 "Victor Bockris is a brilliant young writer who only writes about three people: William Burroughs, Muhammad Ali and me. Victor Bockris has more energy than any person I know. He types like Van Cliburn plays the piano. He's always tape-recording and taking pictures. I can't keep up with him." Bockris' book ''Beat Punks'' explores the relationship between artistic bohemians of the 1950s (

the Beats 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 Generation ...

) and the 1970s (the Punks). This is a theme he is developing in his memoir, ''In Search of the Magic Universe''.

Quotes

"Andy taught us how to interview: Never have any questions ready. Treat it like a cocktail party."

References

External links

Interview

by Victor Bockris

by Victor Bockris

by Victor Bockris
Telegraph Books collection, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Victor Bockris papers, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Victor Bockris and Andrew Wylie Collection
at the

Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...

1949 births Living people English biographers English emigrants to the United States University of Pennsylvania alumni {{England-writer-stub