Howl and Other Poems - 4/5

Poetry is NOT my thing. By the time I'd studied English Literature at GCSE I'd resigned myself to the fact that studying poetry was just something I was going to have to put up with if I wanted to continue studying the aspects of literature that I did enjoy. Then I moved on to studying at English Literature at college and for a while it seemed as if my opinion would stay the same - I just wasn't the type of person who enjoyed poetry. Then about halfway through my first year, at the very end of term when we'd been reading the books for our essays the whole time, my literature teacher started a quiet afternoon lesson on 'Howl' by Allen Ginsberg, and began setting about changing my opinion of poetry forever. Read more: 

'Howl and Other Poems' was written by the beat poet Allen Ginsberg in the 1950's and contains a number of poems based on and inspired by his life, which contributed largely to making him famous. Ginsberg was, and still is, a controversial figure who was greatly opposed to war, materialism and violence and was a big advocate for sexual freedom. Ginsberg lived and worked alongside many of the other widely known poets and writers of his day including Jack Kerouac, Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and John Clellon Holmes, living simply in New York writing, drinking and taking experimental drugs together for a number of years. Ginsberg was sexually fluid but largely identified as homosexual, and spend most of his life with his partner, the poet and actor Peter Orlovsky. 

Ginsberg also had a difficult upbringing. His father was a teacher and a poet and his mother was a member of the communist party who was deeply affected by an undiagnosed mental illness that left her spending the majority of Allen's childhood in various mental institutions. All of these life experiences added up bit by bit and came together in the production of 'Howl'. 

Whether you agree with the way in which Ginsberg conducted his life or not, his poetry speaks for itself. Howl alone is a very long, drawn out exploration of the human psyche containing many characters from Ginsberg's own life. It is harsh and jarring at times, split into four sections which each deal with such topics as the industrialization of civilization, the artistic outcasts on the edge of society and rhythmic exploration of prayer. 

I would give this poetry collection 4/5 and recommend it to anyone who finds themselves bored and disinterested by traditional poetry.