neal cassady's "joan anderson letter" to jack kerouac is discovered!

long considered lost, neal cassady's epic "joan anderson letter" written to jack kerouac in the early 1950's and credited for inspiring kerouac's "on the road" writing style - was discovered, intact, in a storage box from a long defunct small literary magazine.  as reported by the associated press, the letter will be auctioned off on december 17 -- but the full text has yet to be released to the public.

the 16,000+ word, 18 page letter has been considered the holy grail of beat generation lore. about one-third of the letter has been available because it had been transcribed (probably by kerouac himself) and made public (it's available on-line).  but the original had been thought lost - at one point thought tossed overboard from a houseboat.

but the reality was less exciting.  apparently allen ginsberg had sent the letter to the "golden goose press" in san francisco - where it remained in the unopened mailer.  when the small press closed, the publisher boxed up all the unopened submissions.  amazingly, instead of heading into the trash, the boxes found their way into the garage of someone who shared office space with the publisher.  the letter remained, unopened, in that box for almost the next 60 years!  truth apparently is stranger than fiction!

hopefully, the purchaser of the letter will see fit to publish the full text!

"beat memories: the photographs of allen ginsberg" exhibit at the grey art gallery

the only downside to my visit yesterday to nyu's grey art gallery on washington square park to see the ginsberg photographs was the bone-chilling half dozen block walk there from the astor place train station!  and, also weather-related, the museum staff had taken down some photos because of the condensation that permeated the walls that held the photos (which faced the glass facade of the museum).  otherwise, the exhibit itself, "beat memories: the photographs of allen ginsberg," was outstanding.

about five years ago i went to see an earlier, smaller version, of this exhibit (then entitled "beat and beyond") at the suny new paltz samuel dorsky musuem.  many of the same photos were prominently featured - the william burroughs at the met (brother sphinx) was the cover shot for that exhibit.  a couple of years afterwards, many of those photos became the core of this expanded exhibit when it premiered at the national gallery of art in washington, d.c., in 2010.

for any fan of the beat generation, these photos are a must see.  some of the more iconic photos have been seen many times before in various guises.  most are typically found in the photo gallery of beat biographies.  some even emerged as the book covers themselves (kerouac w/his brakeman's manual was the original cover of "jack's book" and a bearded ginsbeg in india became the cover of "a blue hand: the beats in india" - interestingly, both photos were colorized for those book covers).  but seeing the images as the photos they were - and many of them enlarged for the show - is simply a wonderful sensual pleasure.

another interesting aspect of the exhibit is getting to see the physical evolution across time.  one example: the portrait photo of a serious sober gregory corso is a stark contrast to the romping imagines of corso in france during the 1950s.  but, even back then, one image of corso in the garret of the beat hotel clearly foreshadow the skin that he would grow into.  another photo, and for me my least favorite photo of the entire beat generation (and that says a lot) is of a middle-aged kerouac sitting in ginbserg's east village apartment in 1964.  he looks utterly spent and defeated, almost in agony - a victim of his slow suicide by alcohol.  kerouac would be dead five years later.

in addition to photos, there were plenty of beat artifacts - mostly snippets of writing (poems, letters, notes, doodles).  but there were also some first editions - including (obviously), "howl." "on the road." and "naked lunch").  all this good stuff is crammed into four glass exhibit boxes spread across the exhibit space,  it's a fun little detour from the photos that line the walls.

the exhibit runs until april 6h - plenty of time to get there when the temperature inches up a few degrees!  but get there you must if you're a fan of ginsberg and the beats :D

happy birthday bob dylan - 70 years old today!

bob dylan is 7o years old today, may 24, 2011 - and for 50+ years of that life, he has been making some incredible music. and dylan is still going strong, putting out albums and continuing to tour the world. not only is dylan touring these days, but his artwork now does it's own touring! and dylan himself shows no signs of slowing down - kicking off a european tour next month.

in one word dylan is iconic. and, to slip in a second word, he is still relevant today. just last month, as an example of how ubiquitous his impact is - fordham law school held a two day conference on dylan and the law! check out this interesting factoid: "According to the National Law Journal, a 2006 study determined that Bob Dylan is the musician most cited in appellate court opinions." as a lawyer, i find that tidbit nothing short of remarkable.

ironically, my all-time favorite dylan song is "joey" - a mid-70's release that dramatized (fictionalized) the life of mobster joey gallo. dylan rarely plays it in concert, but a fantastic live version of the song is on "dylan and the dead," released a decade after he originally recorded it.

another of my favorite dylan connections is his relationship with the beat generation. and that with allen ginsberg, to be specific. here is a poem ginsberg wrote about dylan's work, appropriately titled, "on reading dylan's writings," that he penned in london, during the summer of 1973.

Now that it's dust and ashes
now that it's human skin
Here's to you Bob Dylan
a poem for the laurels you win

Sincerest form of flattery
is imitation they say
I've broke my long line down
to write a song your way

Those "chains of flashing images" that came to you at night
were highest farm boy's day dreams
that glimpse the Angels light.

And tho the dross of wisdom's come
and left you lone on earth
remember when the Angels call
your soul for a new birth

It wasn't dope that gave you truth
nor money that you stole-- was God himself that entered in
shining your heavenly soul.

it was reprinted in rock sessions magazine, hamburg, germany, 1979.

happy birthday bob dylan!

allen ginsberg performs "howl" for the first time - 55 years ago today!

it was 55 years ago today that allen ginsberg first performed "howl" in public at the six gallery in san francisco. while i posted about the anniversary last year, it's worth mentioning again because of the new film, "howl," that was released last month which dramatizes the six gallery reading and subsequent obscenity trial of the landmark poem. if you haven't yet seen james franco's performance as allen ginsberg, make time to catch "howl' in the theatre - it's a must see for any fan of ginsberg and/or the beats.

today's the day to pull that dog-eared pocket poet copy of "howl" off the shelf and read it once again. or, in lieu of that, do something subversive to commemorate the anniversary ;D

allen ginsberg's "howl" movie review

On Sunday night Pat and I went to see a screening of Allen Ginsberg’s poem “Howl” at the Jacob Burns Film Center. The film was followed by a question and answer session with the co-directors, Robert Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, conducted by Janet Maslin of the New York Times. I had looked forward to seeing “Howl” since it premiered at the at the Sundance Film Festival last January.

But, to fast forward to the Q & A, the very first question Maslin posed to Epstein and Friedman was simply (and I paraphrase), “what did sort of film was it?” It’s neither a documentary nor a dramatization. The film has practically no original dialog because the entire script is constructed from the text of the poem, interviews given by Ginsberg, and the trial transcript. Their answer was a rather coy, “it’s a poetic event.”

I’d buy that - simply because you can’t pigeon-hole a film that’s part animation, part poetry reading, and part dramatization. By way of back story, Epstein and Friedman were brought in by the Ginsberg Estate in 2002 to dramatize the poem and the subsequent obscenity trial in time for the celebration of its 50th anniversary - 2007! Along the way the project took on an added dimension when they decided to animate the poem itself - and secured the unique talent of Erik Drooker for those sequences. Drooker worked with Ginberg more than a decade earlier to produce a volume of “illustrated” poems (which included parts of “Howl”). As an aside, Drooker’s mom was in the audience Sunday night.

Getting back to the film, James Franco is spot on as the 29 year old Allen Ginsberg. It opens with Ginsberg (these sequences were filmed in black and white) at infamous Six Gallery reading that introduced “Howl” to as yet unsuspecting America. The reading quickly morphed into the first animation sequence. From that point on, the film jumps to and from the reading, the animation, the trial, and an interview Ginsberg gives to an unseen reporter. The animation, which was done entirely in Thailand, is a phallically graphic Fantasia-like experience. As a stand alone interpretation of “Howl,” it would be an interesting to sit through in its entirety.

The interview Ginsberg gives to the unseen reporter is meant to be one that Ginsberg gave to Time Magazine in Rome (which has subsequently been lost to time). Ginsberg was never at the trial, not even in the United States, when these events unfolded. He was actually in Tangiers - and was flown to Rome by Time Magazine for the interview. Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who was actually the defendant in the obscenity trial, told Ginsberg he wasn’t needed (nor relevant) for the trial. But Ginsberg did correspond with him about the progress of the trial.

Jake Erlich, one of the pre-eminent first amendment lawyers of that generation (and played here by Jon Hamm) defended Ferlinghetti at the trial. The district attorney was played by David Straitham and the judge was played Bob Balaban. While the outcome wasn’t as foregone as many people might imagine today (thanks to hindsight), the film makers took some liberties with the recreation that made it seem much closer than what actually transpired. The prosecution was only able to muster two witnesses to testify. Both (played by Mary Louise Parker and Jeff Daniels) were shown.

The defense, on the other hand, had nine witnesses testify (and could easily have doubled that total). But the Epstein and Friedman opted to show only one (capably played by Treat Williams). Nor did the film dramatize any of the attendant publicity that followed the course of the trial (aside from an occasional photo of a newspaper clipping). Even more remarkable, principal actors in the events didn’t get any lines - most notably Ferlinghetti (who sat at the witness table and uttered not a word throughout the proceedings)! In a similar vein, when Kerouac and Cassady were portrayed - neither one spoke a word of dialog. What’s up with that? While the film is about all about “Howl” - each of the aforementioned had plenty to say about the poem and Ginsberg himself!

That said, this is a must watch film for any fan of the beat generation. Franco, himself, is a huge fan of the beats and brought that knowledge and interest to the role. He was the first actor hired for the project and spent months researching the young Allen Ginsberg while the rest of the cast took shape. Interestingly, the last actor cast was Jon Hamm - perhaps the one with the most period experience from his “Mad Men” character Don Draper. As Epstein and Friedman related it, he was hired on Friday and was on the set Monday morning shooting his scenes!

Don’t pass up seeing this film on the big screen :D

"the typewriter is holy: the complete, uncensored history of the beat generation" book review

“The Typewriter is Holy: The Complete, Uncensored History of the Beat Generation” by Bill Morgan was released this summer along with “Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg: The Letters,” edited by Morgan and David Stanford. Morgan is a prolific author on all things beat - and it’s more than a bit incongruous to see the vastly different volumes side by side. I read “The Letters” first, then followed it up with “The Typewriter is Holy.” While the former is a “must read” (if not a “must own”) for fans of the beat generation, I have some mixed feelings about the latter.

First off, my pet peeve about long winded subtitles (“complete uncensored”) is juxtaposed against the books contents: a slim, thumbnail sketch (“concise” to be charitable) of the “history” of the somewhat amorphously defined generation. Instead of sticking with the core members, Kerouac, Ginsberg, William Burroughs - and building upon their interactions with collaborators, friends and muses - Morgan casts an unnecessarily wide net. His working definition of it seemed to be that any friend and associate of Allen Ginsberg qualified for inclusion!

Second, while I wholeheartedly agree with Morgan’s premise that Ginsberg was the motivating force who propelled the “beat generation” into existence (building on Kerouac’s coinage of the term itself) by his sheer determination to publicize their collective works (and antics?), the lengths he goes to include “members” can be extreme. It’s hardly conceivable that any scholar of the beat generation - however broadly it is defined - would include Paul Bowles!

Again, while employing Ginsberg and his circle as the framework, Morgan’s “history” tapers off after the death of Neal Cassady and Kerouac in the late 60's. He skims the 70's (touching on the “Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics” and Gary Synder’s “Turtle Island”), and the 80's (the resurgence of interest in Kerouac and the beats) - but plenty of history is left off the big table. Morgan does mention the significant Ginsberg - Bob Dylan relationship, but overlooks Ginsberg’s connection with “The Clash” in the early 80's (especially Ginsberg’s connection to the Clash shows at Bonds) and work with Paul Mccartney in the early 90's (“Ballad of the Skeletons”). Nor does he explore William Burrough’s influence on Patti Smith.

Still, “The Typewriter is Holy” is worth reading - if only to reintroduce the now quaintly antique term “typewriter” to this generation of texters. Morgan knows his stuff - and I hope this book would, in turn, bring readers to his biography of Allen Ginsberg (which is fantastic) - or to reading “The Letters” as a follow-up. The only serious drawback of this slim volume, which is a result of the format, is the lack of any discussion of the literature these beats produced.

"jack kerouac and allen ginsberg: the letters" book review

"jack kerouac and allen ginsberg: the letters" edited by bill morgan and david stanford was published last month, together with a second book by bill morgan, "the typewriter is holy: the complete uncensored history of the beat generation." while "the letters" will become a must have for fans of the beat generation, the same can't be said for "the typewriter is holy," a short, superficial history of the beat generation. this post is a review of the kerouac and ginsberg letters. i'll post a separate review of "the typewriter is holy" next week.

i've been reading the beats, and about the beats, for more than 30 years. that said, reading the chronological correspondence between jack kerouac and allen ginsberg was a revelation. the collection of letters selected runs from 1945 to 1963 (roughly a third have already been published elsewhere). the book is a treasure trove of kerouac-ginsberg material. for those familiar with the outlines of their respective lives, the letters flesh out their inner feelings and motivations.

the most fascinating aspect is watching the two develop as writers. the early enthusiasm of kerouac was beaten into submission by the endless stream of rejections he received during most of the 1950s. despite publication of "the town and city" in 1950, more than 7 long years elapsed until "on the road" was finally published in 1957. during that time kerouac amassed a trunk full of unpublished manuscripts (including, just to list a few, "dr. sax," "visions of cody," "maggie cassidy," "visions of gerard," "the subterraneans," "mexico city blues," and, "some of the dharma").

the extent that allen ginsberg worked tirelessly to get these kerouace books published (along with those of william burroughs, gregory corso, and his many other friends) was remarkable. ginsberg was a one-man publicity machine, anticipating his role as the major force behind promoting the beats and beat generation in the years ahead. ginsberg was the more social, extroverted, of the two. as the years wore on kerouac, because of his alcoholism and notoriety of fame, became more and more withdrawn and removed from the beat circle.

while there are some gaps in the chronology (they didn't write when they were together), the volume tapers off at the turn of the decade - and the book concludes with a handful of letters from 1963. the final decade witnessed kerouac fall into a downward alcoholic spiral that ended with his tragic death, at 47, in 1969. by that time he was a shadow of the man who began corresponding with ginsberg in 1945. still, kerouac was prescient when he wrote (to lawrence ferlingetti), "someday, 'the letters of allen ginsberg to jack kerouac' will make america cry."

the letters didn't bring me to tears, but they did evoke mixed feelings of awe and sadness. clearly these two guys loved each other and supported their respective works and endeavors. but in the end, despite so many similarities, they walked down two very different paths. if you're a fan of either one, or the beats in general, this book is a must read.

happy birthday allen ginsberg - 84 years old in heaven today!

allen ginsberg was born june 3, 1926, and would have been 84 years old today. he died in 1997 at the age of 70 - and was already a legend in his time. ginsberg, together with jack kerouac and william burroughs, was a founding member of the beat generation. his landmark epic, "howl" redefined the boundaries of poetic expression - and became part of the landmark battle against literary censorship in the 1950's.

but ginsberg was much more than a poet, he was an agent provocateur for all things artistic (and beyond). during the course of his life he traveled, wrote prose, kept diaries, photographed, set his poems to music, performed those poems/songs, and helped out countless artists over all those years to pursue their works.

ginsberg is one of my favorite poets. my favorite image of him is from a performance to celebrate walt whitman in brooklyn heights during the early 1990's. i've been a fan of allen ginsberg for decades. spend some time reading ginsberg today!

happy birthday allen (in heaven, or the void - your choice)!!

"howl" with james franco as allen ginsberg, premiers at 2010 sundance film festival

the obscenity trial of allen ginsberg's landmark poem, "howl" took place in san francisco during the summer of 1957 (after seizure by undercover customs officials from "city lights bookstore" and then again by san francisco police officers) - that has been written about extensively, and is part of first amendment lore. tomorrow, the film "howl" which dramatizes the trial and backstory, starring james franco as the young allen ginsberg, has its world premier the 2010 sundance film festival!

the "docudrama" has been a long time in reaching the screen - originally planned for a 2007 release, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the trial. it missed that ambitious target by a few years. regardless, i can't wait to see "howl" when distribution is expanded and finds its way to the east coast - new york city in particular.

back in the fall of 2008, i posted that "howl" had been cast and was finally moving forward. ironically, ginsberg himself was never at the trial - nor anywhere in the united states, for that matter! franco won't have any courtroom appearances in the film. but jon hamm (that erstwhile mad man) will play jake "never plead guilty" erlich, the fiery lead defense attorney.

"howl" is a "must see" for my 2010 movie list :D

allen ginsberg first read "howl" in public at 6 gallery, 54 years ago today!

the legendary 6 gallery poetry reading, where allen ginsberg unleashed "howl" on the unsuspecting audience, took place on a friday night in san francisco, 54 years ago today! ginsberg was on stage with 5 other poets - one of whom, gary snyder, won the pulitzer prize for his "turtle island" poems 20 years later. in addition to the poets on stage, none other than jack kerouac was in the audience - and who, somewhat spontaneously, accompanied ginsberg with chants of "go, go, go" - as he read the poem!

the seminal reading was a major milestone in beat history - followed by lawrence ferlinghetti's now mythical post-reading congratulatory telegram to ginsberg, "i greet you at the beginning of a great career. when do i get the manuscript?" while ferlinghetti echoed emerson's letter to walt whitman upon publication of "leaves of grass," ferlinghetti did, in fact, publish "howl" as part of his city lights "pocket poets" series.

the rest is, as they say, history! the slim pocket poet copies of "howl" were eventually seized by authorities as obscene and ferlinghetti was arrested as the publisher. the ensuing trial - and acquittal - rocketed "howl" into the national spotlight and made allen ginsberg a infamous household name. the trial was also a significant event in the battle for free speech, anticipating additional censorship battles such as the subsequent attempts to suppress william burrough's "naked lunch" a few years later.

read "howl" today in celebration (of ginsberg and our free speech rights)!

jonah raskin's "american scream: allen ginsberg's howl and the making of the beat generation"

jonah raskin's "american scream: allen ginsberg's howl and the making of the beat generation," is one of those good books that's undone by its ridiculously long title. chopping off "and the making of the beat generation" would have balanced the slim volume's physicality with the more precise description of the book, a primer on the genesis of "howl." as a big fan of allen ginsberg, there is, thankfully, very little (despite the subtitle's proclamation) on "the making of the beat generation" - and plenty on ginsberg's masterpiece.

what raskin does, and does well, is mine the ginsberg archives and constructs a detailed history of the threads and impulses that ultimately seat ginberg in front of his typewriter, where he lets loose and pours out the first part of "howl." in the process, raskin put to rest the popular misconception that ginsberg's masterpiece was one long sudden outburst of prosody that magically flowed onto the blank page.

"american scream" is similar to paul mahler's "jack kerouac's american journey: the real life odyssy of "on the road" (a book that also suffers from a too long subtitle), which documents the kerouac road trips that become the material for his novel. in "the original scroll" version of on the road," kerouac fans can read the unadulterated text and in "howl: original draft facsimile, transcript, and variant versions, fully annotated by author...." (breaking all records for the longest subtitle in history) can see the evolution of the poem. fans of ginsberg already know how much work he put into the drafting - and his continually redrafting for years afterwards - of his epic poem.

one of the best parts of the book is raskin's description of kerouac and ginsberg in the tiny san francisco cottage as allen worked on revising and editing the poem. kerouac repeatedly insists on no revisions to original text and ginsberg, total self-confident, shrugged off the endless entreaties and made the changes he thought necessary. while ginsberg had labored mightily to incorporate kerouac's "first though, best thought" mantra in his outlook - ginsberg emerged with his own voice, his own mastery of technique, and created his masterpiece.

while the interactions with kerouac are interesting, the real gems are the historical artifacts that raskin unearthed from the archives - not the least of which were high school and college essays that ginsberg wrote. i was less impressed with the brief comments raskin got from ginsberg's psychiatrist. allen himself repeated credited dr. hicks as the one person who gave him explicit "permission," said it was okay - in so many words - to be openly gay!

the last chapter briefly covered the obscenity trial - that did as much (if not more than) allen's copious efforts at self-promotion to launch the poem into the nation's attention. that trial itself was significant as one more battle in a long line of literary censorship cases from the decade that spanned the mid-50's to mid-60's. the howl prosecution case, in the larger context of the first amendment, was amply covered in, "howl on trial: the battle for free expression."

if you're a fan of allen ginsberg (or the beats in general), "american scream" is well-worth reading. check it out.

2009 poem in your pocket day!

the 2009 national poetry month ends with the "poem in your pocket day." last year i carried around a great poem from gary snyder. this time around it's a more topical take on the times from allen ginsberg.

while the 80's imagery may be somewhat dated, it still speaks to current events:

Velocity of Money

I’m delighted by the velocity of money as it whistles through the windows
of Lower East Side
Delighted by skyscrapers rising the old grungy apartments falling on
84th Street
Delighted by inflation that drives me out on the street
After all what good’s the family farm, why eat turkey by thousands every
Thanksgiving?
Why not have Star Wars? Why have the same old America?!?
George Washington wasn’t good enough! Tom Paine pain in the neck,
Whitman what a jerk!
I’m delighted by double digit interest rates in the Capitalist world
I always was a communist, now we’ll win
an usury makes the walls thinner, books thicker & dumber
Usury makes my poetry more valuable
my manuscripts worth their weight in useless gold -
Now everybody’s atheist like me, nothing’s sacred
buy and sell your grandmother, eat up old age homes,
Peddle babies on the street, pretty boys for sale on Times Square -
You can shoot heroin, I can sniff cocaine,
macho men can fite on the Nicaraguan border and get paid with paper!
The velocity’s what counts as the National Debt gets higher
Everybody running after the rising dollar
Crowds of joggers down broadway past City Hall on the way to the Fed
Nobody reads Dostoyevsky books so they’ll have to give a passing ear
to my fragmented ravings in between President’s speeches
Nothing’s happening but the collapse of the Economy
so I can go back to sleep till the landlord wins his eviction suit in court.

february 18, 1986, 10:00 a.m
allen ginsberg

allen ginsberg, poet & muscian, died 12 years ago today :(

allen ginsberg, a dharma lion, died 12 years ago today, april 5, 1997. he was 70 years old. his powerful influence on american poetry and letters - well beyond his role as a poet of the beat generation - can't be overstated. beyond his poems, ginsberg influenced the development of free speech and expression when "howl" was put on trial and held not to be obscene. he was a world traveller, a convert to buddhism, a photographer, and even found time to become an "actor" and then a "musician," during the course of his life.

while i've posted about the beats, his photographs, and the "howl" trial, i've never posted on his connection to music. it was, perhaps, a logical stepping stone from his many readings and appearances. for example, his relationship to bob dylan - and the effect they had on each other - is truly amazing. they first met in 1963 and remained friends until allen's death. dylan and ginsberg even "recorded together" (i use those terms loosely) in 1971 and, again, in 1982. ginsberg was a member of dylan's famed (or infamous) 1975-6 rolling thunder revue - and appeared in dylan's film, "renaldo and clara."

while not "musical" in nature, this clip of allen and dylan at jack kerouac's grave is a favorite of mine:



ginsberg went on to record, with paul mccartney, the incredible "ballad of the skeletons" (clip below), he also recorded albums with phillip glass ("hydrogen jukebox") and the kronos quartet (reading "howl"). a far cry from the image typically associated with a beat poet!




check out "holy soul jelly roll: poems & songs," a four cd boxed set, to sample ginsberg's diverse body of muscial work.

back to poetry, which i'd like to end this post with, here is one ginsberg wrote about dylan:

ON READING DYLAN'S WRITINGS

Now that it's dust and ashes
now that it's human skin
Here's to you Bob Dylan
a poem for the laurels you win

Sincerest form of flattery
is imitation they say
I've broke my long line down
to write a song your way

Those "chains of flashing images" that came to you at night
were highest farm boy's day dreams
that glimpse the Angels light.

And tho the dross of wisdom's come
and left you lone on earth
remember when the Angels call
your soul for a new birth

It wasn't dope that gave you truth
nor money that you stole-- was God himself that entered in
shining your heavenly soul.

allen ginsberg, july, 1973, london

r.i.p. in heaven (or nothingness) allen ginsberg

"howl" seized by custom officials as obscene, 52 years ago today!

on march 25, 1957, customs officials seized 520 copies of allen ginsberg's poem "howl" that had been imported from the london printer. in the subsequent obscenity trial brought against lawrence ferlinghetti, the owner of city lights bookstore and the book's publisher, judge clayton horn ruled that the poem had "redeeming social importance" and was therefor not obscene.

not only did the government's embarrassingly heavy-handed effort at censorship fail, but it garnered the poem and allen ginsberg incalculable publicity which, in turn, fueled sales and interest in the work and author. "howl," the obscenity trial, the release of jack kerouac's "on the road," publication of william s. burroughs's "naked lunch," and it's own obscenity trials, were milestone events of the "beat generation."

the effort to censor and suppress "howl" was part of a much larger censorship effort that raged during that period and extending into the 60's. outside of the beat authors, censors targeted henry miller's "tropic of cancer" - which was subject to multiple trials, in multiple states and even resulted in an arrest warrant issued in BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, for none other than henry miller himself!

these works weren't obscene - but the efforts to censor and suppress them were!

a book on the "howl" trial, "howl of the censor" was written in the wake of the decision by the lead counsel for the defense, jake erlich. a more recent retelling of the story is in bill morgan's book, "howl on trial: the battle for freedom of expression," published in connection with the 50th anniversary of the poem. now the trial is slated to be made into a film!

if you believe free speech battles are a thing of the ancient past, consider the irony of this sad bit of very "recent" news:

in 2007, on the 50th anniversary of judge horn's landmark decision, ferlinghetti (among others) petitioned pacifica radio to broadcast a live reading of howl to commemorate the anniversary of the events. pacifica radio's wbai declined because it feared (rightly so?) the large fines and sanctions that could have been imposed by the fcc - as a consequence of that exercise of FREE SPEECH!

"howl" the film: all-star cast will recreate the 1957 obscenity trial of allen ginsberg's historic poem

earlier this summer i read the book, "howl on trial: the battle for free expression," which related the details of the landmark obscenity trial over allen ginsberg's historic poem. now, an all-star cast will recreate the trial (and the confluence of events that led up to it) in a soon-to-be filmed documentary.

allen ginsberg will be played by james franco (who, in july, was the first actor to commit to the project). the news announced today is that he will be joined by david strathairn, alan alda, jeff daniels, mary-louise parker and paul rudd.

"Among the real-life characters featured in the film are Judge Clayton Horn (Alda), prosecution witness Professor David Kirk (Daniels), radio personality and prosecution witness Gail Potter (Parker), prosecuting attorney Ralph McIntosh (Strathairn) and literary critic and defense witness Luther Nichols (Rudd)."

in an interesting twist, the poem, howl, itself will be animated. that novel interpretation of the poem will be included in the film:

"Graphic novelist and Ginsberg collaborator Eric Drooker will create an animated reimagining of 'Howl' (in segments Epstein describes as 'a Beat Fantasia') and Carter Burwell will write the original score."

in and of itself, the animated interpretation of howl would be reason enough to see the film! drooker, it's worth noting, has previously illustrated other ginsberg poems.