‘…Ginsberg, Allen (1926-1997)
Probably the best-known U.S. poet to
emerge in the post-World War II period, Allen Ginsberg entered public awareness
with the controversy over his first book, Howl and Other Poems (1956). A
sharp denunciation of America's cultural temper during the Cold War, the volume
included extremely frank celebration of the libido in all its manifestations,
including the homoerotic.
Throughout numerous later works,
Ginsberg has embodied varied aspects of the counterculture: pacifism, drug
experimentation, sexual liberation, hostility to bureaucracy (both capitalist
and Communist), and openness to Eastern religions.
In his earliest writing, Ginsberg
imitated the metaphysical poetry of Andrew Marvell and John Donne. Through
romantic
relationships with fellow Beat Generation figures
Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs--and with the help of a therapist who
encouraged Ginsberg to accept his sexuality--the poet began to draw on personal
experience in his work.
He abandoned strict verse forms, instead producing rapidly written, uncensored compositions. These poems somewhat resemble the work of Walt Whitman, with their use of anaphora and their extensive catalogues; but their diction probably owes more to the "spontaneous bop prosody" of Kerouac's novels.
Ginsberg's exploration of open forms culminated in Howl and Other Poems. The long title piece is a jeremiad in which the poet recalls how "the best minds of my generation" refused, and were "destroyed" by, the norms of middle-class society.
Through the juxtaposition of images ("the crack of doom on the hydrogen jukebox") and an incantatory blend of Biblical cadences and jazz slang, "Howl" evoked extreme states of mind. But the volume also spoke of a feeling of solidarity and community among the dispossessed.
Howl's forthright treatment of gay life--sometimes with a dramatic coarseness of expression ("who let themselves be fucked in the ass by saintly motorcyclists, and screamed with joy")--contributed to the book's seizure by the San Francisco police and U.S. customs in 1956. Thanks to court testimony defending the book's literary merits by prominent writers and academics, Howl was declared not obscene. The book has sold more than 300,000 copies….’
(http://www.glbtq.com/literature/ginsberg_a.html)
In my
early drafts of my life-story (the linear thread) sexuality issues never came into the story
because I only wrote up to about the point where I was nine years old, and I
hadn’t yet at that point come to understand sexuality, although I was aware I
was different to the other kids, and felt a feeling of ‘apartness’ from them.
When I changed the structure to a
completely multi-linear collection of threads, where the narrative ducks
backwards and forwards suddenly I was confronted with new decisions of how to
tell the story. For the first few pages
of the newer draft, suddenly I was 22 years old, a homosexual and drug
addict. As the words came out, I felt
embarrassed and unsure whether or not I needed to disclose my sexuality to
readers. I was afraid of offending
them. But as I made my tentative first
few steps, I was encouraged by my
colleagues, and further on again, I wondered how I could’ve even contemplated
writing my story without disclosing my sexuality. I was editing my own life, once again, just
like I had been asked to do on Rotoroa Island.
I was directed to read a little gay
literature, study some iconic gay literary figures, and in the process I learnt
a lot, about the context of gay literature. Allen Ginsberg was the first gay literary figure I researched.
Upon reading a little about him and listening to his poetry, my
readers can soon begin to see why I was drawn to the words of this man, and why
it is said he became a voice for a generation of ‘Beatniks’ a movement he is
considered the founding father of.
Beneath is a link to a recording of Ginsberg reciting his most famous poem 'Howl"
Some people may be sensitive to some of the content which contains adult themes and language.
More on Literary giants tomorrow...
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