In a Dark Time … The Eye Begins to See

The poet Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) survived his youth in Patterson, New Jersey, popped pills and smoked dope with his friends, fidgeted in jail for burglary, agonized over his homosexuality, and explored psychoanalysis all by the time he was 23 to become one of the most influential poets of the twentieth century. He could also be [...]

According to Jewish tradition, in the presence of a minyon (10 adult men) the child of a dead parent recites the Kaddish every day for 11 months to reaffirm his faith in God after the loss of a parent. One month is dropped from the 12 months required for the most wicked of souls to [...]

Although Jack Kerouac is generally considered the founder of the Beats, Allen Ginsberg may well be its most famous member. For better or for worst, Allen Ginsberg seems to me to be the Elvis Presley of modern poetry. Too often while reading Allen Ginsberg: Selected Poems 1947 to 1995, I felt like I was [...]