Unpopular, unconventional, explicit, controversial... The list could go on when describing the views and opinions Allen Ginsberg held about life, love, and politics during his time. But despite all of that - his poems were iconic. They were revolutionary. They were gut-wrenching. They were the types of poems you read several times over just to give yourself the goosebumps again. They were deep, and they rang true.
So, who was Allen Ginsberg? On June 3, 1926, in Newark, New Jersey, Ginsberg was born to his Russian communist mother, Naomi, and his English-teaching poet of a father, Louis. His childhood was marked by his mother's constant psychological troubles, who eventually spent most of Ginsberg's youth in and out of mental hospitals - this in turn made him more empathetic and understanding of mental health issues, Ginsberg often wrote poems about his mother.
When he began to attend Columbia University Ginsberg befriended William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, the three shared the same views, were known for their haughty behavior, experimented drugs together, and eventually the trio established themselves as pivotal figures in the Beat Movement. After graduating from Columbia, Ginsberg became interested in finding out the true "meaning of life" and writing poetry was his decoding mechanism. One of Ginsberg's biggest influences was poet Walt Whitman, whom he styled his most famous poem "Howl" after. This poem made waves throughout the Beat Generation. "Howl was an eye-opening work in its explorations of sexuality, anguish and social issues in non-traditional poetic form, relying on a freewheeling mix of influences." And because of the unpopularity of opinion and obscenities within the poem, Ginsberg was put under the spotlight, succumbing him to build his poetry and his name along the way.
Ginsberg's political ideologies remained libertarian throughout his whole career, he advocated drug use, individual expression, homosexuality, antiwar, and many more controversial topics, because of this his writing became prolific, and he began to travel and share his poems around the world. Unfortunately, come April 5, 1997 Ginsberg passed away after a long battle with liver cancer. To this day his poems are and will remain as must-read's in literature and, as one of America's foremost writers - Allen Ginsberg is and will remain an icon.
So, who was Allen Ginsberg? On June 3, 1926, in Newark, New Jersey, Ginsberg was born to his Russian communist mother, Naomi, and his English-teaching poet of a father, Louis. His childhood was marked by his mother's constant psychological troubles, who eventually spent most of Ginsberg's youth in and out of mental hospitals - this in turn made him more empathetic and understanding of mental health issues, Ginsberg often wrote poems about his mother.
When he began to attend Columbia University Ginsberg befriended William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, the three shared the same views, were known for their haughty behavior, experimented drugs together, and eventually the trio established themselves as pivotal figures in the Beat Movement. After graduating from Columbia, Ginsberg became interested in finding out the true "meaning of life" and writing poetry was his decoding mechanism. One of Ginsberg's biggest influences was poet Walt Whitman, whom he styled his most famous poem "Howl" after. This poem made waves throughout the Beat Generation. "Howl was an eye-opening work in its explorations of sexuality, anguish and social issues in non-traditional poetic form, relying on a freewheeling mix of influences." And because of the unpopularity of opinion and obscenities within the poem, Ginsberg was put under the spotlight, succumbing him to build his poetry and his name along the way.
Ginsberg's political ideologies remained libertarian throughout his whole career, he advocated drug use, individual expression, homosexuality, antiwar, and many more controversial topics, because of this his writing became prolific, and he began to travel and share his poems around the world. Unfortunately, come April 5, 1997 Ginsberg passed away after a long battle with liver cancer. To this day his poems are and will remain as must-read's in literature and, as one of America's foremost writers - Allen Ginsberg is and will remain an icon.