Some of the stories, such as "Ali's Smile", had previously been published in other books and magazines such as Rolling Stone, Village Voice, Evergreen Review, and Esquire.

In the 1980s, actor Ed Asner recorded a spoken word adaptation of "Wind Die.

We Die", while Burroughs and Kurt Cobain recorded a musical version of one of the stories as The "Priest" They Called Him.

Al Columbia's 1994 comic book series The Biologic Show takes its title from a phrase used in the story "Short Trip Home".

The passage from which the phrase originates is quoted at greater length in an eponymous short story from the comic's first issue.