Joan Vollmer Adams aka Joan Vollmer Burroughs (born February 4, 1923,Loudonville, New York – died September 6, 1951, Mexico City, Mexico) was the most prominent female member of the early Beat Generation circle. While a student at Barnard College she became the roommate of Edie Parker (later married to Jack Kerouac) and their apartment became a gathering place for the Beats during the 1940s, where Vollmer was often at the center of marathon, all ...
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Joan Vollmer Adams aka Joan Vollmer Burroughs (born February 4, 1923,Loudonville, New York – died September 6, 1951, Mexico City, Mexico) was the most prominent female member of the early Beat Generation circle. While a student at Barnard College she became the roommate of Edie Parker (later married to Jack Kerouac) and their apartment became a gathering place for the Beats during the 1940s, where Vollmer was often at the center of marathon, all night discussions. In 1946, she began a relationship with William Burroughs, later becoming his common-law wife. Years later, Burroughs killed Vollmer by shooting her in the head in what was apparently a drunken attempt at playing William Tell.
Joan Vollmer was born in Loudonville, an affluent suburb of Albany, New York. She left her upper-middle class family to attend college in New York City in the early 1940s, and soon afterward became married to Paul Adams, a law student who was drafted during World War II, and therefore overseas during...
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