Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg

A product of the Beat Movement of the 1950's and inspired by true events in his life, Ginsberg wrote his poetic testimonial in an attempt to enlighten the world and pay tribute to his colleagues and companions. Rather than a document written chronologically, Howl and Other Poems is rather a collection of events and ideals that Ginsberg felt compelled to put down into words. Critically acclaimed as one of the best works produced in this era, this books is testament to the emotions, philosophy, and lifestyle of the Beat Movement. The first poem, Howl, throws onto the page, in a seemingly sporadic and, at first, a completely mental stream of consciousness that can be attributed to nothing other than drug-induced mania. Many discredit the authenticity and integrity of his writings, stating that his experiences were drug-induced hallucinations and delusions, but what he has put down on the page has so much depth and inner-meaning that you cannot simply cast them aside as products of drug binges. Howl is the poetic moral doctrine, details how these men and women lived their lives, what they thought about almost every topic under the sun, and how they conducted themselves in a society so adverse to their intentions. In contrast, the rest of the poems, falling under the category and Other Poems, are quite mellow refections on life, politics, and self-worth, taking a seemingly humanistic approach to philosophy.

In Howl, Ginsberg states what it means to be beat in the context of his past experiences, which include the copious bouts of drug use in order to attain a new perspective on the world and their writing, the listening to of jazz, which was done for more than just auditory pleasure, but with reverence- almost as if the jazz were religious hymns, and the being poor and starving and destitute with nothing but their beliefs to help them keep their feet on the ground whilst their heads were in the sky. He preaches about opening eyes and experiencing life to the fullest. Howl also serves as a historical text, archiving different important events along the lives of Ginsberg and his companions; events that include the wild parties, getting kicked out of academies and losing their clout as writers due to "publishing obscene odes on the windows of the skull (Ginsberg 9)" - or in simpler terms, spreading ideas so revolutionary to the monotonous ol' 1950's that it could not be handled, getting arrested, and traveling from East to West to East to West and again, learning and living all the way. This document, compiled by the ingenious Allen Ginsberg, contains all of the philosophy and experience needed to gain a full understanding of the Beat Movement and its inspirations, albeit it is so dense that it is truly going to take me a couple more rereads to be able to process it all.

The other poems in this book are much simpler, touching on thoughts about self-value, as seen in Sunflower Sutra, inspirational figures such as Walt Whitman, as seen in A Supermarket in California, and the essential comparison between modernism and nature, as seen in Transcription of Organ Music. There are, however overbearing themes that tie all of these poems together. Communism, or a basic level of equality for all regardless void of judgement for personal preference or of any kind, other then for justice, the belief that humans are essentially good at heart and should nurture their humanistic core qualities in order to lead full lives, a rebuking of money and religious uptightness, and the importance of education for all.