Allen Ginsberg





Allen Ginsberg (June 3, 1926 - April 5, 1997) was an American Beat poet born
in Paterson, New Jersey. Ginsberg's poetry was strongly influenced by
modernism, the beats and cadence of jazz, and his Buddhist faith. In
addition, he formed a bridge between the Beats of the 1950s and the hippies
of the 1960s befriending, amongst others, Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady and Bob Dylan.

His principal work, "Howl" (ISBN 0872860175), was considered scandalous at
the time of publication, due to the rawness of the language, which was
frequently explicit. Shortly after its 1956 publication by San Francisco's
City Lights Bookstore, it was banned for obscenity. The ban became a cause
c�l�bre among defenders of the First Amendment, and was later lifted after a
judge declared the poem to possess redeeming social importance. Ginsberg's
liberal and generally anti-establishment politics attracted the attentions
of the FBI and he was regarded by them as a major security threat.

Ginsberg's other major works include "Kaddish" (ISBN 0872860191), a
meditation on the death of his mother, Naomi Ginsberg, and "Hadda be Playin'
on a Jukebox", a poem revolving around certain events of the 1960s and
1970s. "Plutonian Ode" (ISBN 0872861252) is a poem against nuclear weaponry.

He was also a member and vocal supporter of NAMBLA.

List of works

   * Howl and Other Poems (1956)
   * Kaddish and Other Poems (1961)
   * Reality Sandwiches (1963)
   * Planet News (1968)
   * The Gates of Wrath: Rhymed Poems 1948-1951 (1972)
   * The Fall of America: Poems of These States (1973)
   * Iron Horse (1974)
   * Mind Breaths (1978)
   * Plutonian Ode: Poems 1977-1980 (1982)
   * Collected Poems: 1947-1980 (1984)
   * White Shroud Poems: 1980-1985 (1986)
   * Cosmopolitan Greetings Poems: 1986-1993 (1994)
   * Howl Annotated (1995)
   * Iluminated Poems (1996)
   * Selected Poems: 1947-1995 (1996)
   * Death and Fame: Poems 1993-1997 (1999)