Howl

American Beat-era poet Allen Ginsberg began writing “Howl” as a private recollection for friends, though he later published the long poem in his 1956 book Howl and Other Poems. Also known as “Howl: For Carl Solomon,” the poem cemented Ginsberg’s status as a prophet-poet in the romantic literature vein of Walt Whitman and William Blake (two major influences). “Footnote for Howl,” written in 1955, is the final portion, though it’s not always included with the original text. Different anecdotes and stories abound concerning the poem’s genesis. Ginsberg abandoned at least two earlier versions, both with different titles, after receiving criticism from poet-friends about voice and style. After a drug-induced vision in 1954 in a friend’s apartment, however, Ginsberg returned to the poem and hammered out much of Part 2, thus chronicling the trademark vision of destruction and hopeful redemption for which “Howl” is known.

Ginsberg eventually became a household name, to the point his public figure often overshadowed his prophetic yet shocking poems, and even caused some to label him a sellout. Early detractors of “Howl” took issue with what they perceived as a loosening of morals inherent to Beat poetry, of which “Howl” is perhaps the most well-known artifact.