Litsy

Howl on Trial: The Battle for Free Expression | Allen Ginsberg

A banned books week post .Lawrence Ferlinghetti in front of City Lights window , his banned book display.Sometime in the 50s .
City Lights published Allen Ginsbergs Howl , which was subjected to an obscenity trial.On October 3,1957 Judge Clayton Horn ruled that the poem was not obscene.I miss City Lights !Another great indie still around & doing mail order .Treasures are on their site especially if you like Beat Generation material.

CaliforniaCay I've been to city lights! I was a bit disappointed by how small it was but I loved the history of the place 💙 4y

Leftcoastzen @CaliforniaCay guess it goes to show rents were high in San Francisco even then. There is the tiny poetry room upstairs (heavenly) and the basement room that smells a little musty , but they pack many titles in that small space.😀 4y

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GingerAntics

Howl, and other Poems | Allen Ginsberg

pan

UNPOPULAR OPINION
Ginsberg really loves his nudity (does he want to be a nudist?!), male genitals, and what I‘m guessing is meant to allude to sex. He comes off as angry and vindictive in places. He seemed to think Walt Whitman was a predator of underaged boys which is just ridiculous. It was hard to tell. Some of this poetry didn‘t even come off as lucid. No thank you. Hard pass for me.
#AllenGinsberg #Howl #Poetry #unpopularopinion

GingerAntics @TheBookHippie and the only mention of water was about oily (dirty?) river water. No oceans. Way to disappoint Whitman while insulting him. Fail. 4y

BookishBelle I agree. I was required to read Ginsburg in college. Didn‘t like it at all. 4y

TheBookHippie @GingerAntics scratches it off the TBR no thank you no one insults my Walt ! 4y

GingerAntics @BookishBelle oh I‘m so glad it wasn‘t just me. That‘s a relief. 4y

GingerAntics @TheBookHippie the second or third poem is all about going grocery shopping with Whitman, and he claims Whitman is ogling the “boys” whatever that means. It‘s just weird. Not sure if he means young men that still look like boys or actual boys. 🤷🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️ It‘s not good. 4y

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GingerAntics

Howl, and other Poems | Allen Ginsberg

I‘m not sure about this collection yet. The first poem was so confusing and all over the place I didn‘t get past the first page. Forget the other 11 pages. The second poem was very in your face and almost crude in places. This one was interesting, but I‘m not sure why he thought he‘d find Walt Whitman in a grocery store (or glaring at grocery boys). @TheBookHippie
#AllenGinsberg #Howl #Poetry

CarolynM I think he imagined Whitman ogling the boys rather than glaring at them😉 4y

GingerAntics @CarolynM yeah, that is probably the better word for it. Still, it seems more mythological Whitman than actual Whitman. 4y

GingerAntics @CarolynM although, I suppose if he realise discovered his own “gayness” in the 40‘s, he‘d have to go for the mythological to find role models or heroes, as opposed to actually having people to look to for guidance or to know what he was feeling sort of thing. I guess I can see where he‘d take comfort (if that‘s the right word) in the mental image of Whitman checking out bag boys on the sly. 4y

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TheBookHippie Maybe he thought Whitman was closeted ..scholars opinions vary as most believe he was bisexual however most written at the time is that he was homosexual. He didn‘t like labels didn‘t believe in them I think he was probably fluid sexually . I‘ve gone to several exhibits that explore all this but never did I get the impression he was lusting after boys in public 🤣🤷🏽‍♀️ no oceans mentioned . 😳🤣🤣🤣 (edited) 4y

GingerAntics @TheBookHippie there is a severe lack of oceans in this collection, yes. 🌊🤣 yeah, I think to say that he was listing after children is disturbing. I‘m hoping Ginsberg meant young men as opposed to actual little boys. 4y

GingerAntics @TheBookHippie I agree that he was probably fluid. He was definitely in the middle area of the spectrum. From his writing it seems he enjoyed everyone. More power to him, I say, as long as everyone‘s consenting. 4y

TheBookHippie @GingerAntics my feelings exactly the Ginsberg it sounds unethical I don‘t think that was true at all. 4y

GingerAntics @TheBookHippie I‘m really struggling with this collection. The poem before this is almost lewd by today‘s standards. I totally get why it was considered lewd back in the 40s and 50s. It seemed unnecessarily lewd, like he just wanted to freak people out and rub his own sex life in other people‘s faces, for lack of another way to describe it. The one before that was almost nonsensical. (edited) 4y

TheBookHippie @GingerAntics I‘ve heard he was very angry and wanted to make people squirm 😳🤷🏽‍♀️ I‘ve never read this but I‘ve had it on my list off and on to read. 4y

GingerAntics @TheBookHippie I can believe that. It was poetic shock and awe. That‘s the best way to put it. I‘m not really impressed. (edited) 4y

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GingerAntics

Howl, and other Poems | Allen Ginsberg

Taking this for a spin as part of my 2020 Adventure in Poetry. Right off the bat, the first poem is 12 pages long. I‘m not sure this is going to go well.
#AllenGinsberg #Howl #Poetry

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GingerAntics

Howl and Other Poems: Pocket Poets Number 4 | Allen Ginsberg

One of my students suggested this to me, and it was on sale, so of course I bought it.
#AllenGinsberg #Howl #poetry #studentrecommendations #writerrecommendations

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Dan_1988

Cell: A Novel | Stephen King

pick

Currently watching #howl has anyone else seen it?

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jpmcwisemorgan

Dracula | Bram Stoker

#howl #Quotsy #QuotsyOct18 #LitsyQuoteChallenge

TK-421

39 likes

Lcsmcat

The Wolf's Tooth: Keystone Predators, Trophic Cascades, and Biodiversity | Cristina Eisenberg

“Wolves began to recolonize our area in the early 1990s. Since then we had been hearing them #howl from the shoulder of our mountain and occasionally finding their tracks. But we had never seen them-not not until that misty August morning when they ran across our meadow. For some long moments after they passed we knelt motionless in the garden, at a loss for words.”
#quotsyoct18 @TK-421

StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego Sounds like a fascinating book! **side note I live near that lake, it's one of my favourites 💙 5y

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