A review by rudi
Howl by Allen Ginsberg, Eric Drooker

4.0

I was reccomended to look up audio of Ginsberg reading the poems in this collection, and listen to them as I read along in the book. Except for some of the shorter poems, YouTube had recordings for most of the poems (and several different ones for Howl). Hearing him read his own poems taps you into the rhythm (beat?) of his writing. But even better is hearing his audience of contemporaries react to him. Gasping, laughter and outbursts of recognition shows the value and weigth of these poems in their time. Many of the references go way above my head - perhaps I ought to have read an annotated version - but I still feel the anguish and frustration coming from the young Ginsberg.

In addition to Howl, I really liked Sunflower Sutra and America.