Allen Ginsberg died on this date in 1997 at the age of 70. You can read his NY Times obit here for a recap of his larger-than-life accomplishments. Notice that I didn't call it the "Failing NY Times" like our President because, unlike him, I respect freedom of the press and I am confident in the reporting accuracy and integrity of "The Gray Lady." Just because you don't like what a newspaper prints doesn't mean it's fake. Bully-pulpiting about that is dictator-style censorship at best.
Pardon my waxing political. Of course, Mr. Ginsberg would likely appreciate that given his robust political activism.
The Kerouac connection here is, of course, that they were great friends and along with William S. Burroughs comprised what some have called the Beat Generation triumvirate. There were, of course, other, albeit lesser known, Beats such as Diane di Prima and Gregory Corso and Herbert Huncke and Hettie Jones and the list goes on and on and on . . . .
In honor of Ginsberg's death, read some of his poetry today (click here). Aloud if you can.
Sometimes, people do the nicest things for you. Allen Ginsberg, even though I only met the man once, was one of those people to me.
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