Allen Ginsberg

Eric Drooker

Beat movement icon and visionary poet, Allen Ginsberg was one of the most influential poets of the twentieth century, and broke boundaries with his fearless, pyrotechnic verse. The apocalyptic 'Howl', originally written as a performance piece, became the subject of an obscenity trial when it was first published in 1956. It is considered to be one of the defining works of the Beat Generation, standing alongside that of Burroughs, Kerouac, and Corso. In it, Ginsberg attacks what he saw as the destructive forces of materialism and conformity in the United States at the time, and takes on issues of sex, drugs and race, simultaneously creating what would become the poetic anthem for US counterculture.

A Graphic Novel

Howl

First published in 1956, Allen Ginsberg's Howl is a prophetic masterpiece—an epic raging against dehumanizing society that overcame censorship trials and obscenity charges to become one of the most widely read poems of the century. This annotated version of Ginsberg's classic is the poet's own re-creation of the revolutionary work's composition process—as well as a treasure trove of anecdotes, an intimate look at the poet's writing techniques, and a veritable social history of the 1950s.

Original Draft Facsimile, Transcript, and Variant Versions, Fully Annotated by Author, with Contemporaneous Correspondence, Account of First Public Reading, Legal Skirmishes, Presursor Texts, and Bibliography

शीतल

If this poem does not gives us an insight on the Beatniks, then I do not know what will. The poem has multiple references about the Beats' lifestyle--in detail--and why they did what they did. A befitting reply to the judgemental ones. Personally, I would not want the readers to be inspired by the Beatniks. The poet gives a very satisfying reason as to why they were so messed up and the way they reacted to things were pretty sad. The concepts of poverty, homosexuality, spirituality, respecting all religions, drugs, re-questioning the norms, capitalism, racism, nature are discussed very well. However, the poet fails to represent a female Beatnik. Perhaps, a misogynist? Good job by the poet, Allen Ginsberg, a beatnik himself. 

Howl A Graphic Novel

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