A Reading at the Old Gallery Six: City Lights Publishes Howl In

» Sunbear - Howl

Enjoyed your evaluation of Howl, Ginsberg and the modern era.

Howl may indeed be the most important American poem of last half of the 20th century. Certainly, it touched me in very deep places. My writing changed after reading Ginsberg and especially Ferlinghetti (my personal favorite of the Beats).

All the best,
Tom

-- posted by Sunbear

» Robert71 - Re: Howl

Thanks a lot Sunbear,
I always enjoy feedback. I liked Howl also for
a lot of reasons. The first time I read Howl,
I was a sophomore in college, and had found an
old 1950's pressing in the library. The book had
a picture of Ginsberg sitting on a stairwell in
New York. He looked a lot younger then. Anyway,
he was sitting there in a leather jacket and looked very hip and cool. All of those guys had
their own style that was unique. When I read Howl, the poem drew me into this other world that
I did not know existed. But, there was something
about the poem that was different than anything
that I have ever read. The first time that I read
Howl, I felt that Ginsberg was onto something. I
am still trying to figure out what this something
is, but I feel that he created a different aesthetic means of expression in poetry.

Rob

-- posted by Robert71