Howl

Allen Ginsberg, along with friends including William Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, and Gregory Corso, rose to fame in the postwar era not only by rejecting mainstream American ideals like capitalism but by inspiring a counterculture revolution known as the Beat Movement. The Beats enacted a social and literary reckoning with much of their initial output taking place in the 1940s and 50s. They sought refuge against US capitalism, patriarchal mores, and “stuffy” writing tinged with artifice by seeking authentic expression in all things. Ginsberg championed their seemingly frenetic writing style with the phrase “First Thought, Best Thought,” suggesting that spontaneity was the hallmark of honest writing and living (Ginsberg did, however, revise both “Howl” and “Kaddish” for publication). Though Beat poets and their circle of influence frequented several major cities, they’re known for establishing a community in San Francisco and the greater Bay area, with their nexus being the historic City Lights Bookstore co-owned by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919-2021).

The Beats wrote from their own experiences; many fueled their lives and their writing through drug use, vision quests, sexual liberation, travel, and spiritual relativism. The Beats also weren’t afraid to talk about deeply personal issues like