Allen Ginsberg - "Howl"

Howl chronicles the lifestyle of the bohemian beat poet of the mid nineteenth century.  Many of the names and places referred to by Ginsberg are of much greater significance to the bohemian beat community of the 1950's then to the average reader.  This exclusivity of content is a bit anti-social and compartmentalizing.  Then again, for those who might like to role-play and time travel in the world of Ginsberg of his contemporaries, this poem might serve as a catalyst for just such experiences.  Because it chronicles the daily lives of these men, the poem also serves as a historical document.  It is unusual that so many of Ginsberg's college age buddies and fellow rebels went on to become household names.  Although it is difficult to avoid all mention or knowledge of characters like Ginsberg, Burroughs, and Kerouac, the notion that we have of them tends to be watered down.  In reality, the life of the beats was indeed grungy and rebellious, as well as licentious and much of this edginess is explicitly apparent in their written works.  While Ginsberg's mention of sexual matters is always frank and often times shocking, there is merit in his honesty.  It does feel that the shock value of Ginsberg's aesthetic is intentional and is perhaps reactionary; reactive to the conservative austerity of the mainstream that Ginsberg grew up with.