Howl, and Other Poems
1956
- poetry (poetic works by one author)
- american poetry
- american poets
- beat generation
- poetry
The story
"The prophetic poem that launched a generation when it was first published in 1956 is here presented in a commemorative 40th Anniversary Edition." "When the book arrived from its British printers, it was seized almost immediately by U.S. Customs, and shortly thereafter the San Francisco police arrested its publisher and editor, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, together with the City Lights Bookstore manager, Shigeyoshi Murao. The two of them were charged with disseminating obscene literature, and the case went to trial in the Municipal Court of Judge Clayton Horn. A parade of distinguished literary and academic witnesses persuaded the judge that the title poem was indeed not obscene and that it had "redeeming social significance."" "Thus was Howl and Other Poems freed to become the single most influential poetic work of the post World War II era, with over 800,000 copies now in print."--BOOK JACKET.
What it’s like
Long, breathless lines that run down the page like a jazz solo, with a sermon's insistent repetitions ("who... who... who...") rising and cresting until they break. The imagery is urban and nocturnal: cold-water flats, neon-lit streets, bebop clubs, freight yards, and a fire-lit vision of the city at 3 a.m., all in raw, unpolished American speech that sounds spoken aloud into a dark room. The vibe is ecstatic and furious, with a tender ache underneath, the voice of someone who has been awake too long and cannot stop talking. The shorter pieces, including the wry supermarket meditation and the catalogue of American places, slow the tempo into observational sketches that give the reader room to breathe between storms. Intensity lives in language rather than gore: frank sexual references, drug and alcohol use, madness and institutional despair, and blunt attacks on postwar conformity, with no graphic violence. It suits a sleepless night, a restless stretch of reading, or a rebellious afternoon with a cup of coffee. It is for readers drawn to Whitman's sweep and the urgent, confessional energy of poetry meant to be heard.
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