I was supposed to blog about Ginsberg and Kerouac, but upon searching for the readings in TRACS, the Kerouac readings seem to be missing, so for now, we'll just concentrate on "Howl."
As much as it annoys me to tell you this, the best way to ingest "Howl" is with a reefer and Walton, Jones, or Davis getting down with it somewhere in the background. After all, this poem is a tribute to what happens to intelligent kids when they get bored with the status quo, which is, of course, getting loaded.
"Howl" reads like it was written ten years later than what it was, and it's no surprise that so much of the culture of the hippies of the sixties was lifted directly from the Beat Generation. When this poem was written, the "$64,000 Question" was the most popular show on television, followed closely by "I Love Lucy." These were what most of us look back upon as being the squeaky-clean post-war years, where everyone washed their hands before sitting down at the dinner table, praying before dinner. In that context, it's easy to see why the authorities came down hard on "Howl." Blatant drug references and depictions of sexuality were not taken lightly in those days, and authorities did their best to keep "Howl" out of the hands of the youngsters of America.
Part I. of "Howl" addresses specific incidents involving friends of Ginsberg, as well as tales to to Ginsberg by Carl Solomon, whom Ginsberg spent some time with in a mental institution. Part II. is devoted to the spirits of authority, who in their minds find it best to quell the demons which inspire individual thought, while Part III. affirms the friendship Ginsberg had with Solomon, and the sympathies the author has with insanity, and the importance insanity plays when battling Moloch.
"Howl" is a revolutionary piece of poetry, laying down a solid foundation for the massive surge of counter-culturalism that was just around the corner.
When i first began reading "Howl" I was a little taken back by how vulgar and shocking, only because most poems are not as blatant. However, after reading this blog about it, i was brought back to remembering the time that it was written, and it all made sense. The words speak perfectly and powerfully to the political and social dilemmas of postwar America, the youngsters generation in particular. (Just like you said in this blog). I did a little research on this poem after i read it and i found that the bookstore that first put it on shelves were charged with distributing obscene literature, but the chargers were later dropped. I just thought that was an interesting fun fact!
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that Ginsberg wrote something that in the mid 20th century had not ever really been written before. Instead of the continuation of old styles of life, explicit material and ideas were made known to all who would read about it. The realization that the evils of the world did not have to be hidden anymore. Knowing that societies have always encompassed these same actions and problems Ginsberg writes about, they had just never really been put to paper this explicitly. Although I don't agree with the vulgarity of "Howl" I understand and see that it was written to describe and explain the actions and ideas of the culture at that time, and in that theme of counter-culturalism, people would fantasize it as something to be had.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though with the background information the piece is more interesting now that I can base it around something. As everyone else I was a little lost with all the bad language. However, with your knowledge it made the situation a bit more tolerable.
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ReplyDeleteBelieve it or not, I actually liked Howl. Sure it was slightly repetitive, the grammar and punctuation was a bit off, but this poem managed to keep my attention. While reading this story, the movie Rent came to mind. I think this poem was really interesting in the way that people were starting to experience new things. Sure, it was with the wrong things like, sex and drugs, but people were willing to go out and break away from the norm. Many people broke away from suburbia, capitalism, and authority. It’s interesting to see how times are beginning to slowly change.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the fact that it was very vulgar and had inappropriate parts. After reading the comments and the blog post, it did help make more sense of the reading. I would say that the poem was interesting and kept you reading. Personally, I wouldn't chose to read this on a regular base. A lot of the grammar was weird and I didn't understand some of it but it was still manageable to read. This poem was unique and different and some readers enjoy this type of poetry while other don't. I would say that I am neutral with it.
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