In high school I was very impressed with Henry David Thoreau. At one point I asked my parents if they could buy me a cabin in the woods. They knew better. I'm not much of an outdoorsman and I’m fond of electricity. I would have probably frozen or starved to death.
I got sidetracked for many reasons. Self-doubt, the need to earn a living in a "practical" career, so many things. To this day I don't know why I joined the Navy as soon as I graduated from high school, but in the Navy I met people who told me about Hunter S. Thompson, Jack Kerouac, Carlos Castaneda, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, The Firesign Theatre, Pink Floyd, and all kinds of trippy mind expansion stuff.
LR: What is your ambition as a writer?
Bill: I would like to be recognized as a writer. I don't know why. The thing is, I've had many jobs; you have to feed yourself, you know, and I just think that, wouldn't it be great if I could get paid for writing, which is what I love to do? Like, if a person loves building stuff out of wood, wouldn't it be great if they could be paid to be a carpenter or a construction worker? Or if you love animals, wouldn't it be great to either work at a zoo or as a veterinarian or an animal trainer? One side of me wants to do good in the world. Like, if my writing could help others in some way, to fight poverty and depression and war, that would be my contribution to society, but on the other hand, I just like it and I don't know why. Of course I want people to like what I write. How can anyone say they don't care what anyone thinks? If someone designs a new car, of course they hope other people like it. If you're a chef and you cook up a dish, you hope others will
LR: Can a writer make a difference in the world? If so, how?
Bill: Well, sure, a writer can make a difference in different ways. If a writer reveals personal feelings, maybe other people can say, "I'm not the only one who has felt this way. I'm not alone." One of the things that defines "Beat" writing is the irreverent search for truths, not just for shock value, but to speak out. Like, a lot of conservative Christians will say that homosexuality is a sin, and no one is born that way, they choose it. Then we see on television that there are actually some babies born with both sex organs, male and female. That child didn't choose that. How do they explain that? Or, we have people that include marijuana in with much more dangerous drugs and waste time and money, not to mention ruining people's lives, for what? For nothing, really. You can have a martini but you can't smoke a joint. Obviously, some writers make a bigger difference than others. Henry David Thoreau spoke out against slavery and war. He is still cited today as an influence on people like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But it doesn't have to be major issues. It can be low-key relief from problems.
