Allen Ginsberg

Allen Ginsberg (1926–1997) was one of the most influential American poets of the 20th century and a central figure of the Beat Generation, alongside Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs, whom he met while studying at Columbia University. His long poem «Howl», first read publicly in San Francisco in 1955 and published in 1956, became a landmark of postwar literature and the subject of a famous obscenity trial that helped redefine free speech protections for artistic work in the United States.

Ginsberg's writing is characterized by long, breathless lines influenced by jazz phrasing, Walt Whitman, and William Blake, mixing raw personal confession with political and spiritual themes. He was an outspoken advocate for gay rights, an opponent of the Vietnam War, and coined the phrase «Flower Power» to describe the countercultural peace movement of the 1960s. His body of work also includes «Kaddish», a searing elegy for his mother, and «America», both frequently cited alongside «Howl» as his defining pieces.

Beyond poetry, Ginsberg had a lasting connection to music, performing spoken-word pieces set to music and collaborating with musicians across genres, from Bob Dylan to punk and rock artists who drew on Beat aesthetics. He remained a public intellectual and teacher until his death in 1997, and his influence continues to be felt across literature, music, and countercultural movements.