Synopses & Reviews
Assembled by Allen Ginsberg, Selected Poems 1947-1995 is the definitive collection of the best works of one of the most influential and revolutionary poets of the twentieth century.
Allen Ginsberg, famous for helping catalyze the Beat Generation, wrote poetry for more than fifty years. His innovative verse and provocative attitudes of spiritual, political, and sexual liberation inspired countless poets, musicians, and visual and performance artists worldwide, and helped shape several generations' views of the world.
Selected Poems 1947-1995 commemorates Ginsberg's brilliant career as one of America's most distinguished poets. Here are well-known masterpieces such as the lyric Howl and the narrative Kaddish -- classic works of American literature -- as well as more recent gems, including the long dream poem White Shroud, the visionary After Lalon, and the political rock lyric The Ballad of the Skeletons, a song he recorded in 1996 with a stellar band that included Philip Glass, Lenny Kaye, and Paul McCartney.
Synopsis
Chosen by Ginsberg himself from nearly fifty years of experimental, groundbreaking verse, this selection, in his words, 'summarizes what I deem most honest, most penetrant of my writing', and includes lesser known and later works which go beyond his iconic Beat Generation image. Presented chronologically, and ranging from early works such as 'Paterson' (1949) to selections from White Shroud (1980-85) and Cosmopolitan Greetings (1986-92), and including the classic poems Howl (1955-56) and Kaddish (1959-60) as well as songs, recent uncollected poems and notes by the author, this volume brings together the most intensely personal verse of a great American poet - incandescent explorations that expand the consciousness with their breadth of vision and depth of humanity.