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American Scream: Allen Ginsberg's Howl and the Making of the Beat Generation
Written as a cultural weapon and a call to arms, Howl touched a raw nerve in Cold War America and has been controversial from the day it was first read aloud nearly fifty years ago. This first full critical and historical study of Howl brilliantly elucidates the nexus of politics and literature in which it was written and gives striking new portraits of Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and William Burroughs. Drawing from newly released psychiatric reports on Ginsberg, from interviews with his psychiatrist, Dr. Philip Hicks, and from the poet's journals, American Scream shows how Howl brought Ginsberg and the world out of the closet of a repressive society. It also gives the first full accounting of the literary figures—Eliot, Rimbaud, and Whitman—who influenced Howl, definitively placing it in the tradition of twentieth-century American poetry for the first time.
As he follows the genesis and the evolution of Howl, Jonah Raskin constructs a vivid picture of a poet and an era. He illuminates the development of Beat poetry in New York and San Francisco in the 1950s--focusing on historic occasions such as the first reading of Howl at Six Gallery in San Francisco in 1955 and the obscenity trial over the poem's publication. He looks closely at Ginsberg's life, including his relationships with his parents, friends, and mentors, while he was writing the poem and uses this material to illuminate the themes of madness, nakedness, and secrecy that pervade Howl.
A captivating look at the cultural climate of the Cold War and at a great American poet, American Scream finally tells the full story of Howl —a rousing manifesto for a generation and a classic of twentieth-century literature.
As he follows the genesis and the evolution of Howl, Jonah Raskin constructs a vivid picture of a poet and an era. He illuminates the development of Beat poetry in New York and San Francisco in the 1950s--focusing on historic occasions such as the first reading of Howl at Six Gallery in San Francisco in 1955 and the obscenity trial over the poem's publication. He looks closely at Ginsberg's life, including his relationships with his parents, friends, and mentors, while he was writing the poem and uses this material to illuminate the themes of madness, nakedness, and secrecy that pervade Howl.
A captivating look at the cultural climate of the Cold War and at a great American poet, American Scream finally tells the full story of Howl —a rousing manifesto for a generation and a classic of twentieth-century literature.
295 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
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107 people want to read
About the author
Jonah Raskin
38 books8 followersJonah Raskin is Chair of Communications at Sonoma State University and produces the website radicaljacklondon.com.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 10, 2024
A Good Overview Of "Howl" and Allen Ginsberg
In a moment that has become iconic in American avant-garde literature, Allen Ginsberg read the first part of his long poem "Howl" at the Six Gallery in San Francisco on October 7, 1955. Several other local readings followed. Laurence Ferlinghetti and City Lights Press published the poem in 1956, and it has sold more than 800,000 copies. An obscenity trial in San Francisco in 1957 only added to the poem's notoriety. "Howl" presents a dark, bleak vision of America in the 1950s, but it also includes passion, religious hope, and a sardonic humor. It reflects part of the American fascination with the figure of the outsider in the Twentieth Century. Ginsberg's poem and his friend Jack Kerouac's novel "On the Road" published in 1957 soon became the most famous texts of a small group of writers known as the Beats.
Jonah Raskin's study, "American Scream" (2004) tells the story of "Howl" and how Ginsberg (1926 -- 1997) came to write it. Raskin, Professor of Communication Studies at Sonoma State University, offers an informative, sympathetic study of Ginsberg which traces the many literary and personal influences that coalesced in his great poem. A combination of biography, history, and literary analysis, Raskin's book offers a good introduction to the poem.
Raskin describes Ginsberg's early life and shows how the poet's conflicted relationship with both parents influenced "Howl". Ginsberg's mother, Naomi, was a member of the communist party. She was seriously paranoid and spent much of her life in institutions. Her life and "madness" formed a pervasive theme for "Howl". Ginsberg's father, Louis, was himself a poet who, from Raskin's account, deserves to be better remembered. Although he wrote mostly conventional verses, some of Louis' writings have the apocalyptic character that his rebellious son captured in "Howl". Raskin's book insightfully describes the father-son relationship. I would have liked to hear more about it. Raskin also discusses Ginsberg's friends in the "hip" Columbia University and New York City community of the 1940s.
Raskin carefully traces some of the literary influences on Ginsberg. Walt Whitman, of course, was a great influence on "Howl" as was Ginsberg's mentor, the American poet William Carlos Williams. But some of Ginsberg's influences may be less obvious. In his years at Columbia, Ginsberg was a careful student of literary surrealism and of modernism in the poetry of T.S. Elliott. Elliott's "The Waste Land" was a major influence on "Howl", and Raskin develops the many parallels in these two important 20th Century poems. Raskin also quotes from many earlier Ginsberg poems to show how modernistic themes, as well as issues with the poet's own sexuality, drug use, suicidal thoughts, institutionalization, and spirituality found expression in "Howl". Although afflicted with his own demons, Ginsberg was also a shrewd self-promoter. Raskin describes how Ginsberg worked, for the remainder of his long life, to reinvent "Howl" and to use his own eccentric behavior to market the poem.
Much of Raskin's book examines the American culture of conformity that developed in the 1950's. Ginsberg's poem was a protest against this culture as well as an expression of his own inner life. The more vivid sections of the book are about Ginsberg himself and about the way in which "Howl" became a poem both autobiographical and imagined.
The literary analysis of the work is offered in sections together with the treatment of Ginsberg's life and 1950's American culture. Raskin offers many valuable comments about "Howl", its composition, and its formal structure. Because of the mixed character of the study, the book does not offer a close reading of Ginsberg's text.
At the end of the book, Raskin captures well something of the spirit of "Howl". He quotes Kerouac's description of the poem as "beautiful in an ugly graceful way." Raskin himself concludes eloquently:
"With passion and precision -- and from a sense of anomie and terror -- Allen Ginsberg told the truth, as best he could, about himself, the world, and the cosmos. In "Howl", he owed no allegiance to any cause, party, or movement in poetry. By following his own muse he found his own voice and by expressing his own madness he disclosed much of the madness of America." (p. 230)
Raskin has written a scholarly work. Valuable as it is, the book does not reflect fully the iconoclastic, passionate, and violent world of the Beats. Even so, the book served its purpose in that it led me to reread "Howl" with greater understanding together with several of Ginsberg's related poems that Raskin discusses.This book is an accessible guide to "Howl".
Robin Friedman
In a moment that has become iconic in American avant-garde literature, Allen Ginsberg read the first part of his long poem "Howl" at the Six Gallery in San Francisco on October 7, 1955. Several other local readings followed. Laurence Ferlinghetti and City Lights Press published the poem in 1956, and it has sold more than 800,000 copies. An obscenity trial in San Francisco in 1957 only added to the poem's notoriety. "Howl" presents a dark, bleak vision of America in the 1950s, but it also includes passion, religious hope, and a sardonic humor. It reflects part of the American fascination with the figure of the outsider in the Twentieth Century. Ginsberg's poem and his friend Jack Kerouac's novel "On the Road" published in 1957 soon became the most famous texts of a small group of writers known as the Beats.
Jonah Raskin's study, "American Scream" (2004) tells the story of "Howl" and how Ginsberg (1926 -- 1997) came to write it. Raskin, Professor of Communication Studies at Sonoma State University, offers an informative, sympathetic study of Ginsberg which traces the many literary and personal influences that coalesced in his great poem. A combination of biography, history, and literary analysis, Raskin's book offers a good introduction to the poem.
Raskin describes Ginsberg's early life and shows how the poet's conflicted relationship with both parents influenced "Howl". Ginsberg's mother, Naomi, was a member of the communist party. She was seriously paranoid and spent much of her life in institutions. Her life and "madness" formed a pervasive theme for "Howl". Ginsberg's father, Louis, was himself a poet who, from Raskin's account, deserves to be better remembered. Although he wrote mostly conventional verses, some of Louis' writings have the apocalyptic character that his rebellious son captured in "Howl". Raskin's book insightfully describes the father-son relationship. I would have liked to hear more about it. Raskin also discusses Ginsberg's friends in the "hip" Columbia University and New York City community of the 1940s.
Raskin carefully traces some of the literary influences on Ginsberg. Walt Whitman, of course, was a great influence on "Howl" as was Ginsberg's mentor, the American poet William Carlos Williams. But some of Ginsberg's influences may be less obvious. In his years at Columbia, Ginsberg was a careful student of literary surrealism and of modernism in the poetry of T.S. Elliott. Elliott's "The Waste Land" was a major influence on "Howl", and Raskin develops the many parallels in these two important 20th Century poems. Raskin also quotes from many earlier Ginsberg poems to show how modernistic themes, as well as issues with the poet's own sexuality, drug use, suicidal thoughts, institutionalization, and spirituality found expression in "Howl". Although afflicted with his own demons, Ginsberg was also a shrewd self-promoter. Raskin describes how Ginsberg worked, for the remainder of his long life, to reinvent "Howl" and to use his own eccentric behavior to market the poem.
Much of Raskin's book examines the American culture of conformity that developed in the 1950's. Ginsberg's poem was a protest against this culture as well as an expression of his own inner life. The more vivid sections of the book are about Ginsberg himself and about the way in which "Howl" became a poem both autobiographical and imagined.
The literary analysis of the work is offered in sections together with the treatment of Ginsberg's life and 1950's American culture. Raskin offers many valuable comments about "Howl", its composition, and its formal structure. Because of the mixed character of the study, the book does not offer a close reading of Ginsberg's text.
At the end of the book, Raskin captures well something of the spirit of "Howl". He quotes Kerouac's description of the poem as "beautiful in an ugly graceful way." Raskin himself concludes eloquently:
"With passion and precision -- and from a sense of anomie and terror -- Allen Ginsberg told the truth, as best he could, about himself, the world, and the cosmos. In "Howl", he owed no allegiance to any cause, party, or movement in poetry. By following his own muse he found his own voice and by expressing his own madness he disclosed much of the madness of America." (p. 230)
Raskin has written a scholarly work. Valuable as it is, the book does not reflect fully the iconoclastic, passionate, and violent world of the Beats. Even so, the book served its purpose in that it led me to reread "Howl" with greater understanding together with several of Ginsberg's related poems that Raskin discusses.This book is an accessible guide to "Howl".
Robin Friedman
December 29, 2015
A very peculiar book. Its treatment of Ginsberg is panegyric, to the point that it even impedes the reading. We get constant references to literature that 'electrified [his] body' - we get it, Ginsberg was fond of Whitman. But is it really crucial to keep reminding readers that Ginsberg was a genius? This makes the prose heavy-handed, and even I can assume that the author was at least partially inspired by Ginsberg's dislike of the methodology offered by New Criticism, it nonetheless does not read well.
That said, the book is well researched, and relies on scores of material that has never before been used, and is very informative, and is worth a read, though there are parts that can be only skimmed over.
That said, the book is well researched, and relies on scores of material that has never before been used, and is very informative, and is worth a read, though there are parts that can be only skimmed over.
April 22, 2018
Howl for me, and I'm sure many, many others, was an axis shifting moment in my reading history. Still I was surprised Raskin was able to maintain the momentum to follow the development of Howl from beginning to end and beyond in such a consistently fascinating and illuminating way. Interweaving the literary and biographical threads to that led to Howl was, I would guess, a extraordinarily difficult task but Raskin's results are masterful. I would go with 4.5 stars if I could (damn you, Goodreads and your affection for whole numbers!) and my only minor quibble is that Raskin left me wishing he had devoted even more pages to the influences of Ginsberg's parents and fellow beat writers (particularly Burroughs.)
July 27, 2015
Jonah Raskin chooses to focus on Ginsberg's 'Howl' to tell the life story of Allen Ginsberg and while it is dense and informative, Barry Miles's "Ginsberg: A Biography" is far more interesting and fluid. Raskin falls into the spewing of neverending facts and quotes that don't quite connect together. An interesting read, but a bit of a slog to get through.
June 20, 2025
A whole 230ish pages arguing the praises of Howl. Gives a broad background bio of AG and where his poetry is coming from - specifically Howl. Interesting read if you’re sympathetic to the Beat Generation. I wish I was better acquainted with the work of Yeats, Auden, Whitman and other poets referenced. I guess that’s another project!
May 11, 2020
Only read around ~200 pages and felt that I had learnt as much as I could out of this book. Provides lots of context around Howl and the primordial soup of the Beats. Good read, and I feel it has served me well even at 200 pages.
August 9, 2020
Well researched and insightful, but riddled with typos. As many before me have said, it also sucks Ginsberg off more than I did in middle school poetry class.
More than a little upset over how little it focuses on the Beat Generation, considering the title.
More than a little upset over how little it focuses on the Beat Generation, considering the title.
August 7, 2018
Badly let down by its lack of organization.
April 27, 2020
A very good book for getting inside of Ginsberg's head.
August 13, 2020
A comprehensive and fascinating study.
April 6, 2023
Very well researched.
Currently reading
October 6, 2010It's a great book in that it helps you get closer to the man that was/is Allen Ginsberg. I heartedly recommend it to anyone reading his poetry… especially 'Howl'.
February 14, 2012
Good book and has some great info on the relentless marketing of Howl as well as works by Ginsberg's pals Kerouac and Burroughs.
Want to read
August 3, 2013[Jonah_Raskin]_American_Scream_Allen_Ginsberg's_H(BookFi.org)pdf
Read
May 26, 2019Couldn’t borrow this so read as much as possible in one sitting. Very informative and interesting.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews