{"product_id":"howl-and-other-poems","title":"Howl \u0026 Other Poems","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe landmark, original publication of Allen Ginsberg's \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eHOWL \u0026amp; Other Poems\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHOWL \u0026amp; Other Poems\u003c\/em\u003e, the prophetic book that launched the Beat Generation, was published by Lawrence Ferlinghetti at City Lights Books in 1956. Considered the single most influential work of post-WWII United States poetry, the City Lights edition of \u003cem\u003eHOWL\u003c\/em\u003e has remained in print for more than 60 years, with well over 1,000,000 copies in print.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e A strident critique of middle-class complacency, consumerism, and capitalist militarism, \u003cem\u003e HOWL\u003c\/em\u003e also celebrates the pleasures and freedoms of the physical world, including a tribute to homosexual love. In addition to \"Howl,\" poems in the book include: \"A Supermarket in California,\" \"Sunflower Sutra,\" \"America,\" \"In the Baggage Room at Greyhound,\" \"Transcription of Organ Music,\" and \"Wild Orphan,\" among others.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA History of \u003cem\u003eHOWL\u003c\/em\u003e: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eCity Lights founder Lawrence Ferlinghetti first heard Allen Ginsberg read \"Howl\" at the Six Gallery event in San Francisco, 1955, which featured writers Philip Lamantia, Gary Snyder, Philip Whalen, and Michael McClure, introduced by poet Kenneth Rexroth. Jack Kerouac was present, but did not read, encouraging and cheering the other poets on. Ferlinghetti was so impressed by Ginsberg's performance, he immediately telegrammed him, referencing Ralph Waldo Emerson's response to Walt Whitman's \u003cem\u003eLeaves of Grass\u003c\/em\u003e, \"I greet you at the beginning of a great career. When do I get the manuscript?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e When the first edition of \u003cem\u003eHOWL \u003c\/em\u003earrived from its British printers, it was seized almost immediately by U.S. Customs, and shortly thereafter the San Francisco police arrested its publisher and editor, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, together with the City Lights Bookstore manager, Shigeyoshi Murao. The two were charged with disseminating obscene literature, and the case was sent to trial. Ferlinghetti partnered with the ACLU to launch a defense of \u003cem\u003eHOWL\u003c\/em\u003e, and a parade of distinguished literary and academic witnesses appeared in court to persuade the judge of its merits. In the end, famously conservative Judge Clayton Horn ruled that the poem was not obscene, but rather, as he stated emphatically, \u003cem\u003eHOWL\u003c\/em\u003e was a work of \"redeeming social significance.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e The landmark decision signaled a sea change in American culture, and the City Lights edition of \u003cem\u003eHOWL\u003c\/em\u003e became a vital cornerstone in the ongoing struggle for free expression and representation. It continues to attract generation after generation of readers.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"City Lights Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51661238370594,"sku":"9780872860179","price":7.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/8637\/3154\/files\/imageloader_4d43486b-1c3d-4684-996a-b967ca947778.jpg?v=1779452348","url":"https:\/\/godmothers.com\/products\/howl-and-other-poems","provider":"Godmothers","version":"1.0","type":"link"}