"Beat Generation"

"Howl and Other Poems" & Allen Ginsberg

           

In the 1960s and 70s, Ginsberg studied under gurus and Zen masters. As the leading icon of the Beats, Ginsberg was involved in countless political activities, including protests against the Vietnam War, and he spoke openly about issues that concerned him, such as free speech and gay rights agendas.

Howl and Other Poems was published in 1956 by City Lights Bookstore, it was banned for obscenity. The work overcame censorship trials, however, and became one of the most widely read poems of the century, translated into more than twenty-two languages.

In the early '60s, while his fame grew, he was thrust in the hippie scene, helps Timothy Learyto promote LSD and the psychedelic part of an incredibly large list of events such as theHuman Be-In in 1967, in San Francisco, where he is leading one of the crowd chanting themantra Om.
Ginsberg had many fans, including Jim Morrison of the Doors. Morrison was so addicted topoetry and works of him that said writing songs after reading some of his poems. Bob Dylan was a great friend of Allen Ginsberg.