American Change (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Allen Ginsberg
- First Published: 1961
- Type of Work: Meditation
- Genres: Poetry, History, Lyric poetry
- Subjects: North America or North Americans, United States or Americans, Native Americans or American Indians, Economics, Money, Patriotism, Coins
The Poem
“American Change” is Allen Ginsberg’s meditation on the figurative and literal meanings and values of money. Written in 1958, as Ginsberg was returning to the United States from a stint in the merchant marine, the narrative of the poem traces the speaker’s changing attitudes toward his country as he reflects on the American coins in his pockets. Without their value as American currency, these coins were only souvenirs when the speaker was at sea, but as the poem plots his return to New York, he removes the change from his pocket and revalues it.
The poem...
[The entire page is 1587 words long]
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