LOLA Issue Four

Yony Leyser
Queer and Now
Perhaps it’s this fondness for the incongruous
that contributes to the power of his work. In
his films, transgression and desire act as catalysts
for countercultural revolutions, be it through
a vibrant portrait of Beat Generation icon William
Burroughs in his 2010 documentary William S.
Burroughs: A Man Within or explorations of identity
and queer underground in 2015’s Desire Will Set You
Free. Both films exhibit a profound interest in people
upsetting the system, driven by passion, paradox, art
and community. “When you make a documentary
it’s like writing a memoir,” says Yony. “You’re shaping
a reality through a very big lens. People think
documentary is like a photograph of something,
when in actuality it’s more like a painting.”
Yony was born in DeKalb, Illinois and went on
to study at California Institute of the Arts and The
New School in New York. “Before I was making
movies I was an anarchist; I was an activist,” he
explains. “But being an activist was too didactic. I
had too much humour and I figured art was a more
effective and fun way to do it.” The art of filmmaking
in particular allowed him to roll all his passions
into one: “I was always interested in writing and
journalism and documenting, photography,
theatre, and I figured film kind of encapsulates
everything. It’s such a powerful medium.”
A Man Within happened almost by accident, as
great works of art often do. After making an art piece
at CalArts criticising the dean of students and illegally
using her signature, Yony was given the option of
either facing prosecution or taking a leave of absence.
So, he moved to Lawrence, Kansas planning to make
a documentary on counter-culture. Coincidentally,
Lawrence was William Burroughs’ home for the final
years of his life. Gradually, Yony made friends with
Burroughs’ friends, and eventually the film evolved
into a portrait of Burroughs himself.
Burroughs was a fascinating subject: a gun-toting,
cat-loving, queer junky who shot his wife
in the head and made an unprecedented mark
on literature. Making a film about such a largerthan-life
icon was no small feat. However, Yony
managed to successfully marry the enigmatic
persona with the conflicted man behind it. Only
21 at the time, his audacity, talent and persistence
got him interviews with Burroughs’ lovers, friends
and contemporaries from the fields of art, literature
and music. “His friends wanted to talk about
him,” says Yony. “It was this ripe subject.”
Making the film allowed Yony to honour the man
whose writing had had such a profound influence
on both him and the queer community at large. “I
liked that he was the first to break the rules,” he
says. “I always felt like someone who didn’t fit into
society and I just was kind of imagining someone
who was this outcast, who was queer and didn’t fit
in, and was rebellious and created his own realities,
and did it at a time when no one had ever done it
before. Genet too, all these kinds of people paved
the way for the subcultures that I took part in.”
The result is stunning. A Man Within weaves
together footage and anecdotes of a long and
astonishing life riddled with joy, lust, addiction,
pain, tragedy and poetry. Grainy footage of Burroughs’
face stares you down as his growly voice
recites his own erotic and abject verses in the
perfect cadence of a poet. The film splices together
never-before-seen footage from Burroughs’ life
with interviews with punks, poets and counter-cultural
greats including John Waters, Patti Smith,
words by
Alison Rhoades
photos by
Robert Rieger
DeKalb, Illinois
The city was named after decorated
German war hero Johann
de Kalb, who died during the
American Revolutionary War.
Other notable people from
DeKalb include model and
actor Cindy Crawford, author
Richard Powers, and the inventors
of barbed wire.
Summer 2017
13