Allen Ginsberg’s Howl
The first time I ever heard of Allen Ginsberg was when I saw in Bob Dylan’s music video for “Subterranean Homesick Blues.” Allen Ginsberg is a difficult poet to like, the initial response to his poetry is usually an eyeroll. Throughout his career his writing process was aided by a lot of psychedelic drugs, especially the poem “Howl.” “Howl” has been criticized as romanticizing mental illness, crime, and a lot of terrible things that seem difficult to ever portray in a positive light. However, I think Allen Ginsberg actually liked the seedy underbelly of the city. What most people saw as tragedy I think he saw as poetic. The rejected members of society are a team, and they have each other’s backs. But those that went to college, got jobs, got married and moved into suburban homes were robots, sellouts and they could never understand what it means to truly be human. Yeah I think Allen Ginsberg has moments where he’s really annoying. Going to college, getting a job, getting married and providing for your family is awesome, and ideal. Simultaneously, I agree with Ginsberg that for some people there’s a different road than that. Following a roadmap even if it’s a good one leads to the terrifying notion of everyone thinking the same, society can’t function like that. The best societies, the richest ones, operate on human differences. That’s why I really like the poem “Howl” it’s about all the things happening below the surface.
One response so far
I like the fact that you were able to lay out multiple perspectives on what is admittedly a frustrating poem to wrap one’s head around. I do agree that in today’s society, it is quite ideal to go to college, get a degree, and proceed to create a family. While I can certainly understand the fact that Ginsberg was terrified of becoming a sellout (I at one time wanted to be that indie guy who followed his own path and refused to conform) it is frustrating as someone who is about to graduate college and is working very hard to accomplish goals and milestones, to be referred to as a “suit” or a “robot” by Ginsberg. However, I do think that it takes a special kind of talent to write poetry in a way that Ginsberg did, and I like that you were able to praise his poem while finding his personality off-putting at the same time.