Collected poems, 1947-1980 - Hardcover

GINSBERG, ALlen.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060153415 ISBN 13: 9780060153410

Publisher: Harper, 1984

Synopsis

Herein author has assembled all of his poetry books published to date rearranged in straight chronological order to compose an autobiography.

About this title

Review:

Tortured by the paranoia and mental illness of his immigrant mother, and by his own homosexuality in a society that was homophobic, Allen Ginsberg's early work was as much a measure of his self-loathing as his detestation of social hypocrisy and injustice. His poems reached depths of humiliation and shame that presaged a mental breakdown, followed by recovery with the help of Buddhist philosophy. Ginsberg's political commitment was fired by his involvement with Jack Kerouac, Gary Snyder and others in the Beat movement, a poetry of social protest that refused perceived elitist boundaries. Despite a tendency toward propaganda, Ginsberg's best poetry is infused with satiric comedy and cheerful self-parody, and is most readily appreciated when read aloud.

About the Author:

Allen Ginsberg was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters as well as a winner of the National Book Award for Poetry. He was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1926, and died in New York City in 1997.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 1984
• ISBN 10: 0060153415
• ISBN 13: 9780060153410
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1