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

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

, primarily of

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

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

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

(and

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Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...

, William S. Burroughs, Terry Southern, Blondie,

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author, and photographer. Her 1975 debut album '' Horses'' made her an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement. Smith has fu ...

, and

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

. He helped write the autobiographies of

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, 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 styles across rock, dr ...

and Bebe Buell.

Life and career

Bockris was born in Sussex, England in 1949; his family moved to

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

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 (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, where he was a member of the Philomathean Society, 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 (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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" re ...

''. "Andy taught us how to interview: Never have any questions ready. Treat it like a cocktail party," Bockris said. As well as ''Interview'', Bockris also published work in ''

High Times ''High Times'' was an American monthly magazine (and cannabis brand) that advocates the legalization of cannabis as well as other counterculture ideas. The magazine was founded in 1974 by Tom Forcade. The magazine had its own book publishing d ...

'', '' Gadfly'' and ''

Drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

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

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, known as the Humanities Research Center until 1983, 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 ...

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