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Beats of Summer - Howl

Howl and Other PoemsHowl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I get it but I don't get it.

As poems, they are beautiful in the an abstract piece of art is beautiful.  As for understanding what he's writing about I'm at a complete loss.

After I got done reading this I went online to see if I could get a better understanding of what I read. It is cases like this that I find Wikipedia useful, even if not the most reliable source for information.  In this case they have a section Bibliographical References and Allusions and a chart that explains a lot about  Howl.

Looking back on Howl now that I've read On the Road, I will admit it makes a bit more sense.

Besides Howl I really enjoyed Ginsberg's earlier work.  I think those few poems saved this from being a 2 star review.  My two favorite were Song and In Back of the Real.

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Comments

  1. Roof Beam ReaderJuly 2, 2013 at 1:45 PM

    Oh, gosh. I read this one for the event, too, but I absolutely loved it (gave it 5 out of 5). But, Ginsberg's poetry reads much like a lyric version of William Burroughs's prose, which I adore and find super fascinating, so I sort of felt "at home" with this, whereas, with most poetry, I'm at a total loss. I hope to have my review posted in the next few days.

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    Replies
    1. AmeliaJuly 2, 2013 at 1:57 PM

      I'll wait to read your review. I'm interested to see what others saw and I missed.

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