The Poem That Changed America: Howl Fifty Years Later

A tribute to Ginsberg's signature work, which stirred a generation of angel-headed hipsters to cultural rebellion.

In 1956, City Lights, a small San Francisco bookstore, published Allen Ginsberg's Howl and Other Poems with its trademark black-and-white cover. The original edition cost seventy-five cents, but there was something priceless about its eponymous piece. Although it gave a voice to the new generation that came of age in the conservative years following World War II, the poem also conferred a strange, subversive power that continues to exert its influence to this day. Ginsberg went on to become one of the most eminent and celebrated writers of the second half of the twentieth century, and “Howl” became the critical axis of the worldwide literary, cultural, and political movement that would be known as the Beat generation.

The year 2006 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of “Howl,” and The Poem That Changed America will celebrate and shed new light on this profound cultural work. With new essays by many of today’s most distinguished writers, including Frank Bidart, Andrei Codrescu, Vivian Gornick, Phillip Lopate, Daphne Merkin, Rick Moody, Robert Pinsky, and Luc Sante, The Poem That Changed America reveals the pioneering influence of “Howl” down through the decades and its powerful resonance today.

"If the opening lines of Allen Ginsberg's 'Howl' aren't seared into your brain, they will be by the end of this collection of 26 essays compiled by Shinder, a poet (Among Women) who learned much of his craft as Ginsberg's pupil. It's a shame the poem isn't included, though it feels as if it's quoted in its entirety at various points (the hardcover edition does come with a Ginsberg reading on CD). This collection juxtaposes reflections by writers such as Rick Moody and Andrei Codrescu about the impact of 'Howl' on their lives; Billy Collins writes, '...it wasn't a waste of time for a Catholic high school boy from the suburbs to try to sound in his poems like a downtown homosexual Jewish beatnik.' Robert Pinsky writes that he was initially elated by the poem's linguistic freedom even more than by its raw emotion. Though everybody gives the poem its due as an American classic, personal reactions dominate, and nearly everyone has a Ginsberg story to tell, even if it's just about being blown away by hearing him read. For those who have been moved by Ginsberg's words, this collection serves as a stirring confirmation. Photos." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"While the contributors' tone is generally respectful, their comments are not always laudatory. Phillip Lopate, for instance, complains about Ginsberg's sentimentality, while Frank Bidart charges that fame turned the poet into a guru." Library Journal

"As long as humanity remains a heap of wobbling dichotomies, Ginsberg's Howl, like Thoreau's Walden and Twain's Huckleberry Finn, will remain a monumental cry of dissent against the allures of our darker inclinations." Washington Post

"A moving tribute to Walt Whitman's truest heir." Kirkus Reviews

The year 2006 marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Allen Ginsberg's signature work, "Howl." Shedding new light on this pioneering cultural work, this collection contains new essays by many of today's most distinguished writers.

Jason Shinder's most recent collection of poetry is Among Women. He is co-editing the letters between Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac and teaches in The Writing Seminars at Bennington College.