Poet Allen Ginsberg

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Allen Ginsberg, best-known for his radical poem "Howl" and for his outspoken views on American society, politics and the Vietnam War, was a very influential figure in the counterculture of the mid to late 1960s. The author points out that when it was first published, "Howl" reflected some of the most absurd and decadent traits of American culture, ignored by most people, such as the use of illegal drugs that was just beginning to spread in the urban cities. The paper relates that the contents of "Howl" disturbed many people, even those in San Francisco, a city known for its non-conformity and outlandish social life. The paper concludes that Allen Ginsberg gave impetus to great cultural changes in the way young people chose to live within a society that, for the most part, rejected and denied them.

From the Paper:

"Clearly, it was Lucien Carr who introduced Ginsberg to the cultural miasma of Greenwich Village in New York City, a place rampant with people from all walks of life. It was in this setting that Ginsberg's literary mind was set on fire and where he first experienced the thrill of being an intellectual steeped in an explosion of culturally-diverse phenomenon. Not long after meeting Carr, Ginsberg wrote to his brother and said, "I plan to go down to Greenwich Village with a friend of mine who claims to be an intellectual, and knows queer and interesting people. I plan to get drunk, if I can.""

Sample of Sources Used:

• Hyde, Lewis, Ed. On the Poetry of Allen Ginsberg. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1984.
• Merrill, Thomas F. Allen Ginsberg. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1978.
• "On Howl." Modern American Poetry. Internet. Accessed October 18, 2005. http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/g_l/ginsberg/howl.htm.
• Portuges, Paul. The Visionary Poetics of Allen Ginsberg. New York: Ross-Erickson, 1978.
• Sanders, Edward. The Poetry and Life of Allen Ginsberg. UK: Scribner's, 1975.

More papers on Poet Allen Ginsberg:

• Research Paper # 75095 : "The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg"
• Book Review # 94171 : "Allen Ginsberg's Poem 'Kaddish'"
• Analytical Essay # 16191 : "Howl" by Allen Ginsberg"

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