Allen Ginsberg

Allen Ginsberg (1926—1997), is an American poet. He be­came known as a leader of the beat 1 itcrary movement of the 1950's and also of the cultural and political protests of the 1960's. Critics have praised him as a prophetic poet in the tradition of William Blake of England and Walt Whitman of the United States.

Ginsberg's writing combines the spiritual and rhythmic quali­ties of certain Eastern and Western religious texts with the lan­guage, imagery, and subject matter of modern life. Many critics see him as representing a struggle for spiritual survival in a dehuman­ized, repressive society. Ginsberg's long poem «Howl» (1956) at­tacks the forces of conformity and mechanization that he believes destroy the best minds of his generation.

Ginsberg was born in Newark, N.J. The death of his mother in 1956 inspired his famous elegy «Kaddish» (1961). His other works include «Reality Sandwiches» (1963), «The Fall of America: Po­ems ofThese States» (1972), and «Mind Breaths» (1978). His «Col­lected Poems: 1947—1980» was published in 1984.

Vocabulary

prophetic - пророческий

howl - вой, рев

Aaswer the Questions

1.What literary movement was A. Ginsberg the leader of?

2. What poets did critics compare him to?

3. What qualities does Ginsberg's writing combine?

4. What does his poem «Howl» attack?

5. What are his other works?