Allen Ginsberg Criticism
Allen Ginsberg, a pivotal figure in American poetry and a central voice of the Beat Generation, is renowned for his influential role in both literature and the socio-political movements of the 20th century. His work, characterized by unstructured forms and bold themes, reflects his libertarian ideals and personal experiences, including his complex childhood and his evolving understanding of his sexuality, as explored in Naked Allen Ginsberg. Notably, his major works such as Howl and Other Poems (1956) and Kaddish and Other Poems (1961) have left an indelible mark on the Beat Movement, with Howl in particular overcoming obscenity charges to become a seminal text, earning Ginsberg a reputation as a mentor and a central figure in poetry readings and literary events.
Ginsberg's poetry often served as a conduit for his political activism, with collections like Planet News (1968) and The Fall of America (1973) — the latter earning the National Book Award — offering critiques of contemporary society. His later work, Mind Breaths (1978), marked a shift towards spiritual reflection. Critical reception of Ginsberg's work varies; while his innovative style and thematic audacity are praised by figures like Richard Eberhart for their redemptive energy, others argue it lacks traditional aesthetic accomplishment, as discussed in Reflections on Allen Ginsberg as Poet and by Kingsley Widmer.
The intersection of Ginsberg's personal narrative with broader cultural and political themes is a hallmark of his work. His candid exploration of sexuality, including homosexuality, and his innovative style defined by the spontaneous and free-form expression, is evident in the impact of Howl, as highlighted by Brian Docherty. His Kaddish, an elegy for his mother, integrates personal narrative with cultural tradition and cements his identity as a Jewish writer, a theme explored by Helen Vendler and Alicia Ostriker.
Despite criticisms, Ginsberg's role in reshaping American poetry and culture is undisputed. Essays such as Allen Ginsberg: The Poetics of Power and ‘Strange Prophecies Anew’: Rethinking the Politics of Matter and Spirit in Ginsberg's ‘Kaddish’ examine his influence on literature and politics. Ginsberg's legacy endures, underscored by his founding of the Committee on Poetry in 1966 and his continuous advocacy for artistic expression and social change until his death in 1997. His poetic mission, as noted by Harold Beaver and Louis Simpson, was one of personal therapy and public revelation, blending the personal with the universal in a manner that forever altered the landscape of modern poetry.
Contents
- Principal Works
- Ginsberg, Allen (Vol. 4)
- Ginsberg, Allen (Vol. 1)
- Ginsberg, Allen (Vol. 2)
- Ginsberg, Allen (Vol. 3)
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Ginsberg, Allen (Vol. 109)
- Interviews
- Obituaries
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Overview
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Allen Ginsberg: The Jew as an American Poet
(summary)
In the following essay, Grossman discusses Ginsberg's contribution to Jewish poetry, focusing particularly on Kaddish.
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A Music of Angels
(summary)
In the following review of Planet News, Zweig argues that Ginsberg pushes poetry forward in subject matter and style.
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Reflections on Allen Ginsberg as Poet
(summary)
In the following essay, Parkinson considers whether Ginsberg is truly a poet, centering his discussion on Planet News.
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Bits from a Beat
(summary)
In the following review of Journals Mid-Fifties, Theroux argues that the journals are often dull and reveal little of Ginsberg's life.
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Allen Ginsberg
(summary)
In the following essay, Docherty compares Ginsberg's work with that of Walt Whitman, arguing that they are similar in subject and philosophy but not style.
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The Reversed Pietà: Allen Ginsberg's 'Kaddish'
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Vendler discusses Ginsberg's use of traditional Jewish prayer, the influence of other writers, and his observations on his mother in the poem 'Kaddish.'
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American X-rays: Forty Years of Allen Ginsberg's Poetry
(summary)
In the following review of Selected Poems 1947–1995, Vendler argues that Ginsberg's poems raise consciousness.
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'Howl' Revisited: The Poet as Jew
(summary)
In the following essay, Ostriker argues that while Ginsberg rejected elements of his Jewish heritage, it still influenced his writing.
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Allen Ginsberg: The Jew as an American Poet
(summary)
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Ginsberg, Allen (Vol. 13)
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West Coast Rhythms
(summary)
In the following essay, Richard Eberhart argues that Allen Ginsberg's poem "Howl" is a profoundly impactful work that critiques modern civilization with its biblical style and redemptive energy, while also acknowledging Ginsberg's use of humor and lyricism in other poems.
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Kingsley Widmer
(summary)
In the following essay, Kingsley Widmer critiques Allen Ginsberg's poetry, arguing that while Ginsberg lacks traditional poetic craftsmanship, his work offers a significant "spiritual mission" that combines personal therapy with public revelation, serving as both a critique of modern society and a "confession-conversion-protest" in the modernist tradition.
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Paul Zweig
(summary)
In the following essay, Paul Zweig argues that Allen Ginsberg's poetry, particularly in Howl, revolutionized poetic language by embracing a radical inclusivity and unfiltered spontaneity that distinguishes it from traditional and surrealist approaches, asserting love and acceptance even amid harsh realities, and influencing the experimental poetry of the 1960s.
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Not Made for the World of Moloch
(summary)
In the following essay, Louis Simpson critiques Ginsberg's "Journals" for lacking insight into his poetic development, while acknowledging Ginsberg's influence on American poetry and his distinctive, sometimes controversial, moral attitudes.
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Harold Beaver
(summary)
In the following essay, Harold Beaver explores Allen Ginsberg's unique blend of Jewish comic bravura and spiritual skepticism, contrasting it with Walt Whitman's self-affirmation, and argues that Ginsberg's poetry, characterized by a rejection of the soul and a reliance on humor and mantra, marks a transformative journey from youthful howling to enlightened laughter.
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West Coast Rhythms
(summary)
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Ginsberg, Allen
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Reflections on Allen Ginsberg as Poet
(summary)
In the following essay, originally published in 1969, Parkinson debates the poetic value of Ginsberg's verse, contending that it belongs 'in the area of religious and spiritual exploration rather than that of aesthetic accomplishment.'
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Allen Ginsberg's Visions and the Growth of His Poetics of Prophecy
(summary)
In the following essay, Portugés details Ginsberg's visionary experiences and their effect on his poetry.
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Allen Ginsberg: The Poetics of Power
(summary)
In the following essay, Shechner determines the impact of Ginsberg's poetry on cultural and political events in the 1960s and 1970s and deems him “America's leading and perhaps only example of a power poet.”
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Allen Ginsberg
(summary)
In the following essay, Woods places Ginsberg's poetry within the gay tradition and considers the function of sexuality in his work.
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The Beat Goes On: Allen Ginsberg, All American
(summary)
In the following review, Klawans assesses Ginsberg's contribution to American poetry.
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The Moral Imperative in Anthony Hecht, Allen Ginsberg, and Robert Pinsky
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Spiegelman finds parallels between the work of Ginsberg, Anthony Hecht, and Robert Pinsky.
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Ginsberg and Kerouac
(summary)
In the following essay, Honan traces Ginsberg's role in the development of the Beat Movement in American literature and discusses the influences on both Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac.
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Allen Ginsberg's ‘Howl’: A Reading
(summary)
In the following essay, Stephenson analyzes “Howl” as “essentially a record of psychic process and … its relationship to spiritual and literary traditions and to archetypal patterns.”
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Naked Allen Ginsberg
(summary)
In the following essay, Reilly explores Ginsberg's status as an outsider and its impact on his work.
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‘Standing by His Word’: The Politics of Allen Ginsberg's Vietnam ‘Vortex’
(summary)
In the following essay, Jarraway discusses “Wichita Vortex Sutra” as emblematic of Vietnam and postmodern literature.
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The Reconceptualization of Culture: Allen Ginsberg, James Baldwin, Mary McCarthy
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Jamison and Eyerman regard the role of radical politics on the work of Ginsberg, James Baldwin, and Mary McCarthy and deem the three authors “central actors in the reconceptualization of American culture that was taking place in the postwar period and, more important, in planting seeds that would sprout in the 1960s.”
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Funky Poetry: Ginsberg's The Fall of America
(summary)
In the following essay, Peters provides a stylistic analysis of Ginsberg's verse, defining it as “funky” poetry.
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Pushing Seventy
(summary)
In the following mixed review, Everett considers the poems in Cosmopolitan Greetings as candid yet inconsistent.
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The Phenomenon of Allen Ginsberg
(summary)
In the following essay, Bawer explores the reasons for Ginsberg's renown and considerable reputation.
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The Reversed Pietà: Allen Ginsberg's ‘Kaddish’
(summary)
In the following essay, Vendler perceives “Kaddish” as “chiefly an elegy of the body—the physical body and the historically conditioned body of Naomi Ginsberg.”
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American X-Rays: Forty Years of Allen Ginsberg's Poetry
(summary)
In the following mixed assessment of Selected Poems, 1947-1995, Vendler views Ginsberg's verse as an insightful record of late twentieth-century American history.
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Counterculture Forever
(summary)
In the following review, Chidley considers the renewed commercial and critical interest in Ginsberg's verse as well as the poet's political and social concerns.
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‘Howl’ Revisited: The Poet as Jew
(summary)
In the following essay, Ostriker regards Ginsberg as a Jewish poet.
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My War with Allen Ginsberg
(summary)
In the following essay, Podhoretz recalls his disputes with Ginsberg and provides a critical assessment of his work and contribution to American poetry.
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Imagism and Allen Ginsberg's Manhattan Locations: The Movement from Spatial Reality to Written Image
(summary)
In the following essay, Castellitto perceives an affinity between Ginsberg's utilization of Manhattan images in his verse and the Imagist poets of the early twentieth century.
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‘Strange Prophecies Anew’: Rethinking the Politics of Matter and Spirit in Ginsberg's ‘Kaddish.’
(summary)
In the following essay, Trigilio contrasts “Howl” and “Kaddish” and determines the “complex role ‘Kaddish’ plays in Ginsberg's development of a contemporary poetics of prophecy.”
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Allen Ginsberg's Urban Pastoral
(summary)
In the following essay, Diggory views Ginsberg's poetry as part of the pastoral tradition.
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Cold War Correspondents: Ginsberg, Kerouac, Cassady, and the Political Economy of Beat Letters
(summary)
In the following essay, Harris surveys the correspondence between three of the predominant figures in the Beat Movement and elucidates its insight into the relationship between the Cold War and Beat Movement.
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Reflections on Allen Ginsberg as Poet
(summary)
- Further Reading