Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg

"Howl" was originally written as a performance piece by a young, new poet, Allen Ginsberg.  When published by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti in 1956, Howl broke so many social taboos that copies were impounded as obscene, and  Ferlinghetti arrested. In 1957 the courts ruled that the poem was not obscene, and "Howl" went on to become the most popular poem of the Beat Generation.

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;

Angel-headed hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection

to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night.

A deluxe hardcover commemorative facsimile edition of this groundbreaking American classic, celebrating the 40th anniversary of its publication, this is the original City Lights Howl, the prophetic masterpiece that revolutionized American poetry and American consciousness. New Preface by Lawrence Ferlinghetti.