THE DAILY BEAT: Happy Birthday, Allen Ginsberg

Monday, June 3, 2013

Happy Birthday, Allen Ginsberg

Were he still alive, beat poet extraordinaire Allen Ginsberg would have been 87 years old today. One of the inner circle of the beat generation and a close friend of Jack Kerouac's, Ginsberg is known especially for his poem, Howl, which was the subject of a famous censorship trial in 1957 (and a recent movie starring James Franco).

Let's read some Ginsberg today in honor of his birthday. Click here to read Howl. Click here to hear Allen reading it.

Happy Birthday, Allen.

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Reviews of The Beat Handbook

Gerald Nicosia, author of the acclaimed Kerouac biography Memory Babe, said The Beat Handbook is "full of Jack's heart."

Jared Randall, author of the excellent book of poetry, Apocryphal Road Code, said this about The Beat Handbook: "Sometimes a book comes along at just the right time. In my wandering pack of experiences, I find they often do. Enter The Beat Handbook by Rick Dale."

Kenneth Morris, Kerouacian extraordinaire, said this:
"I just finished reading Rick Dale's beautiful utterance and call to action of Kerouac mind-set and zen sensibilities. It made me laugh and reflect on my own life and road I have naturally grooved into after absorbing the Kerouac canon. The road less traveled always had my name on it. And that has made all the difference. The Beat Handbook 100 Days of Kerouactions reaffirms the attitudes and ideology that made the Beats and Kerouac the important men of ideas that America (and the world) thirsted for, needed, and swallowed whole. Beautiful, absorbing, Top Ten whipsmart from my articulate, tender-hearted friend and fellow traveler. Highly recommended."