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The "Beat Movement" in modern literature has become an important period in the history of literature and society in America. Incorporating influences such as jazz, art, literature, philosophy, and religion, the Beat writers created a new and prophetic vision of modern life and changed the way an entire generation of people see the world. That generation is now aging and its representative voices are becoming lost to eternity, but the message is alive and well. The Beats have forever altered the nature of American consciousness. The impact of the Beats would certainly not have been as universal or influential if not for the writing of one poem; "Howl" by Allen Ginsberg: I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix, angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night…(1-3) These lines, perhaps the most well known in 20th century poetry, serve as a thematic statement for a poem that offers a new way of thinking, a sense of hope of escape from the "Molochs" of society. The story of the poem’s history serves well as an account of the birth of the Beat Generation. Ginsberg’s life leading up to the writing of "Howl," the actual creation of the poem, its legendary first reading, and the aftermath of its public debut all figure prominently into the history of the literary movement. One can understand the impact of the poem on the Beat Generation by studying not only the chronology of its past, but its intricate and unique structure as well as its themes and ultimate message. Following is an examination of the poem as the great expression of Beat defiance, beginning with a short history of the poem. Ginsberg’s Beat career began at Columbia University in 1943 where he met Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, Neal Cassidy and others. This group of writers would remain life-long friends of Ginsberg and influence him in myriad ways. The history of "Howl," however, begins in 1953 after Ginsberg’s move to San Francisco in search of poetic inspiration. Having moved away from the camaraderie of his group of New York friends, Ginsberg began to feel dislocated and depressed. Ginsberg knew he was at a crossroads in his art between his apprenticeship to academic models of literature (mentor William Carlos Williams specifically), and breaking through to a personal voice which could sing of experience beyond the bounds of what was permissible – by 50’s academic standards – to speak of in poetry. Battling writer’s block, Ginsberg decided to enroll in graduate school at U.C. Berkeley, moved to North Beach, and moved in with a friend of Kerouac’s. It was in these surroundings that he came to be part of poet Kenneth Rexroth’s Friday night poetry circle. The Rexroth circle: well-read and international, homosexual and heterosexual, poets and artists from several generations, laid the foundation for the Beat breakthrough. Ginsberg slowly became more comfortable with his new surroundings, encouraged by his new companion, Peter Orlovsky. He still, however, was becoming more and more depressed, attempting to deal with his repressed homosexuality. Ginsberg consulted a psychiatrist and asked him if he should be trying to be heterosexual. When the doctor asked Ginsberg what he really wanted to do, the poet replied, "I really would just love to get an apartment, stop working and live with Peter and write poems." To which the doctor replied, "why don’t you?" (Schumacher 147). Ginsberg felt he had received a blessing. He arranged his own layoff at the market-research firm where he had been working by replacing himself with a computer, ensuring himself unemployment benefits for six months.
Approximate Word count = 2467
Approximate Pages = 9.9
(250 words per page double spaced)
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