Synopses & Reviews
Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) kept a journal his entire life, beginning at the age of eleven. In these first journals the most important and formative years of the poets storied life are captured, his inner thoughts detailed in what the San Francisco Chronicle calls a vivid first-person account...Ginsbergs unmistakable voice coming into its own for the first time.” Ginsbergs journals-so candid he insisted they be published only after his death-document his complex, fascinating relationships with such figures of Beat lore as Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs, and reveal a growing self-awareness about himself, his sexuality, and his identity as a poet. Illustrated with never-before-seen photos and bolstered by an appendix of his earliest poems, The Book of Martyrdom and Artifice is a major literary event.
Synopsis
Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) kept journals his entire life, beginning at the age of eleven. These first journals detail the inner thoughts of the awkward boy from Paterson, New Jersey, who would become the major poet and spokesperson of the literary phenomenon called the Beat Generation. The Book of Martyrdom and Artifice covers the most important and formative years of Ginsberg's storied life. It was during these years that he met Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs, both of whom would become lifelong friends and significant literary figures. Ginsberg's journals -- so candid he insisted they be published only after his death--also document his relationships with such notable figures of Beat lore as Carl Solomon, Lucien Carr, and Herbert Huncke. Conversations with Kerouac, his beloved muse Neal Cassady, and others have been transcribed from Ginsberg's memory, and information will be found here relating to the famous murder of David Kammerer by Carr -- a startlingly violent chapter in Beat prehistory -- which has been credited in New York magazine as "giving birth to the Beat Generation." It was also during this period that he began to recognize his homosexuality, and to think of himself as a poet. Illustrated with photos from Ginsberg's private archive and enhanced by an appendix of over 100 of Ginsberg's earliest poems, The Book of Martyrdom and Artifice is a major literary event.
Synopsis
The earliest journals and poems of legendary Beat Generation avatar and poet extraordinaire Allen Ginsberg-including rare photographs and over 50 previously unpublished poems
About the Author
Allen Ginsberg¹s Howl was one of the most widely read and translated poems of the twentieth century. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and cofounder of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa Institute. Juanita Lieberman-Plimpton worked with Allen Ginsberg and as an editor in New York City. She now owns and runs her own business, Mud Pie Productions and lives in western Massachusetts. Bill Morgan was Allen Ginsberg¹s literary achivist and is author of the biography I Celebrate Myself: The Somewhat Private Life of Allen Ginsberg. He lives in New York City.