HOWL AND OTHER POEMS
by Ginsberg, Allen
- Used
- Hardcover
- Signed
- first
- Condition
- Very good plus.
- Seller
-
Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
And it was during October that the poet gave his only two public readings before the end of the year. The first was Oct. 21st, when both he and Gregory Corso read at the Poetry Center at San Francisco State (Corso's first public reading). But curiously Ginsberg did not read from HOWL that evening despite a large and expectant crowd - more than 500 people - and "[i]mmediately following the reading," both poets "were anxious to get on the road" (Morgan, CELEBRATE, 224). The pair were hitchhiking south on their way to Mexico (where they would spend the month of November), but had an important stop in Los Angeles, where they had a reading scheduled for October 30th.
Sponsored by the literary magazine, COASTLINES, this small reading (held in a boarding house) would become one of Ginsberg's most famous, second only to the Six Gallery in terms of notoriety. The best account of the event is from Lawrence Lipton's 1959 memoir THE HOLY BARBARIANS. According to Lipton, Ginsberg was "reading from the book [HOWL], which had just come out," but was repeatedly interrupted by a drunk in the audience who jeered and heckled Ginsberg throughout. Ginsberg finished his portion of the event, but the matter came to a head when Corso got up to read. The drunk renewed his jeers and interruptions, eventually challenging Corso to a fight. At this point, Ginsberg stood up and countered that if the heckler wanted to do something truly brave, he would take off all his clothes. "The poet always stands naked before the world," Ginsberg explained and proceeded to disrobe until he was standing stark naked before the drunk, now stunned into silence. From there the drunk backed down and even reportedly asked Ginsberg after the reading where he could get a copy of HOWL for himself.
No matter where it was signed, however, copies signed in the year of publication are quite rare. We trace only a handful inscribed in 1956, with most of those being associations of one form or another. A significant copy from early in the life of this landmark poem that along with Kerouac's ON THE ROAD and Burroughs's NAKED LUNCH form the cornerstone of the Beat movement. It remains Ginsberg's most enduring work. Original stiff black stapled wrappers with pasted white printed wraparound label, as issued. One of a thousand copies. Signed and dated by Ginsberg on the title page: "Allen Ginsberg / Oct 1956." Spine toned, as common. Mild soil, rubbing, edgewear. In a custom, full black goat-skin, clamshell box.
Synopsis
"Howl" was originally written as a performance piece by a young, new poet, Allen Ginsberg. When published by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti in 1956, Howl broke so many social taboos that copies were impounded as obscene, and Ferlinghetti arrested. In 1957 the courts ruled that the poem was not obscene, and "Howl" went on to become the most popular poem of the Beat Generation. I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix; Angel-headed hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Brian Cassidy Bookseller at Type Punch Matrix (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 40731
- Title
- HOWL AND OTHER POEMS
- Author
- Ginsberg, Allen
- Book Condition
- Used - Very good plus.
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First edition
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- The City Lights Pocket Bookshop
- Place of Publication
- San Francisco
- Date Published
- 1956
Terms of Sale
Brian Cassidy Bookseller at Type Punch Matrix
Payment by check or money order (made out to "Type Punch Matrix"), VISA, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Paypal. All books subject to prior sale. New customers are asked to prepay. Libraries, institutions, and established customers and dealers may be invoiced. Reciprocal trade courtesies.
About the Seller
Brian Cassidy Bookseller at Type Punch Matrix
About Brian Cassidy Bookseller at Type Punch Matrix
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Rubbing
- Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.
- Inscribed
- When a book is described as being inscribed, it indicates that a short note written by the author or a previous owner has been...
- Wrappers
- The paper covering on the outside of a paperback. Also see the entry for pictorial wraps, color illustrated coverings for...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Clamshell Box
- A protective box designed for storing and preserving a bound book or loose sheets. A clamshell box is hinged on one side, with...