White Shroud

by Allen Ginsberg

Poems by a modern master. "[Ginsberg's] powerful mixture of Blake, Whitman, Pound, and Williams, to which he added his own volatile, grotesque, and tender humor, has assured him a memorable place in modern poetry."-- Helen Vendler

Genres: Poetry, Queer

112 pages, paper

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Allen Ginsberg was a groundbreaking American poet and activist best known for his central role in the Beat Generation and for writing the landmark poem Howl. Born in 1926 in Newark, New Jersey, to Jewish parents, Ginsberg grew up in a household shaped by both intellectualism and psychological struggle. His father, Louis Ginsberg, was a published poet and a schoolteacher, while his mother, Naomi, suffered from severe mental illness, which deeply affected Ginsberg and later influenced his writing—most notably in his poem Kaddish.
As a young man, Ginsberg attended Columbia University, where he befriended other future Beat luminaries such as Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, and Neal Cassady. These relationships formed the core of what became known as the Beat Generation—a loose-knit group of writers and artists who rejected mainstream American values in favor of personal liberation, spontaneity, spiritual exploration, and radical politics.
Ginsberg rose to national prominence in 1956 with the publication of Howl and Other Poems, released by City Lights Books in San Francisco. Howl, an emotionally charged and stylistically experimental poem, offered an unfiltered vision of America’s underbelly. It included candid references to homosexuality, drug use, and mental illness—subjects considered taboo at the time. The poem led to an obscenity trial, which ultimately concluded in Ginsberg’s favor, setting a precedent for freedom of speech in literature.
His work consistently challenged social norms and addressed themes of personal freedom, sexual identity, spirituality, and political dissent. Ginsberg was openly gay at a time when homosexuality was still criminalized in much of the United States, and he became a vocal advocate for LGBTQ+ rights throughout his life. His poetry often intertwined the personal with the political, blending confessional intimacy with a broader critique of American society.
Beyond his literary achievements, Ginsberg was also a dedicated activist. He protested against the Vietnam War, nuclear proliferation, and later, U.S. foreign policy in Latin America. He was present at many pivotal cultural and political moments of the 1960s and 1970s, including the 1968 Democratic National Convention and various countercultural gatherings. His spiritual journey led him to Buddhism, which deeply influenced his writing and worldview. He studied under Tibetan teacher Chögyam Trungpa and helped establish the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado.
Ginsberg’s later years were marked by continued literary output and collaborations with musicians such as Bob Dylan and The Clash. His poetry collections, including Reality Sandwiches, Planet News, and The Fall of America, were widely read and respected. He received numerous honors for his work, including the National Book Award for Poetry in 1974.
He died of liver cancer in 1997 at the age of 70. Today, Allen Ginsberg is remembered not only as a pioneering poet, but also as a courageous voice for free expression, social justice, and spiritual inquiry. His influence on American literature and culture remains profound and enduring.

Reviews

[Justė · Rating 4 out of 5]

That's my first Ginsberg, except for reading Howl once, and I really enjoyed it. Highly experimental, honest and satirical. Without looking it up I guess he kept slagging 'murica throughout all his creative years. I wish I was able to read his stuff if he lived to this day.
Loved the tone, loved the satire, loved the sarcastic imagery. Will be coming back to this one regularly and will be reading through all of his catalogue.

[Steven Godin · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I'm no longer young in life
and there seem to me not
so many pleasures to look forward to
How fortunate to be free
to write of cars and wars, truths of eras,
throw away useless
ties and pants that don't fit.

[Dane Cobain · Rating 4 out of 5]

This late collection of Ginsberg’s is difficult to track down, and I think I know why. Because this came along so late in Ginsberg’s career, I suspect that after the initial print run, it mostly just got tacked onto the end of his collected poems after he died.

It’s a decent collection but too hard to get hold of to be of any real interest to anyone other than the seasoned Ginsberg reader. I’m glad I ticked it off, though.

[Courtland Bethune · Rating 3 out of 5]

So definitely some language/terminology that is dated and inappropriate.

But there's some beautiful stuff in there about mortality.

It definitely gave me some writing ideas.

[Brandon Montgomery · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short collection of lengthy poems. Ginsberg has matured as an artist, and most of these poems are retrospective - Though there's still plenty of take no prisoners agitprop political poems.
His command of the English language is superb in this volume, though he sometimes rests on old, tired phrases Ginsberg readers will be well familiar with.

[M. Ashraf · Rating 2 out of 5]

White Shroud
Poems 1980 - 1985
Allen Ginsberg

Part of the collected work of Allen Ginsberg.
I did not like the entire collection but parts of it are really great!

Hypocrisy
is the key
to self defeating
prophecy

Sincerity
is the key
to living
in Eternity

[Atticus · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was...not very good. It really is rather direct, and while I don't mind bluntness in poetry, it didn't have enough accompanying wit to drive it home. Half of these poems feel like Ginsberg is simply yelling about politics or rambling about the men he's screwed.

It felt, ultimately, like a surface-level text.

[Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vintage Ginsberg! What more can I say? Some of these I really like a lot, perhaps not as much for what he says but how he says it. We need another Ginsberg.

[Tuhin Bhowal · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I went downstairs to the shady living room, where Peter Orlovsky
sat with long hair lit by television glow to watch
the sunrise weather news, I kissed him & filled my pen and wept."

[Douglas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like Ginsberg's earlier work. Later in his career he seems to trade on his celebrity and his poetry is not as good. The shock value of his blunt talk about bodily functions diminishes after reading much of his poetry. Two poems stand out in this work for me. The First is his reaction to the religious broadcasters who made headlines during the eighties. Then their is his account of inviting a straight man to stay with him and share his bed. Ginsburg;s talent shows through in a collection that was largely disappointing for me.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it was Faulkner who said something to the effect that the greatest writers are those who dare and try and take risks, even if they fail, and that such writers are better than those who play it safe. Allen Ginsberg wasn't afraid to take risks, even it it sometimes made him look silly.

Allen Ginsberg’s position in the literary pantheon is certainly secure. His best work is undeniably great. At the same time, I’ve read poems of his in this and other collections that felt phone-in, that have made me scratch my head and think, “Come on now, Allen, you’re not really even trying.”

(For example, this excerpt from “Going to the World of the Dead:”

…”Your Nuclear Bomb Ho Ho Ho

Let go your Disaster your Death Let go

Ho Ho Ho Ho Ho Ho

Ho Ho Ho Ho Ho Ho

Millionaires of Mexico Ho Ho Ho

Millionaires of Nicaragua Let go Let go.”)

But Ginsberg was the first to admit that he often got caught up in the demands of being “ALLEN GINSBERG” (See the poem “I’m a Prisoner of Allen Ginsberg”), so it should not be surprising when it feels as if he put more effort and talent into certain poems and barely bothered with others.

This collection offers a good cross-section of his range—the profound poems and the silly ones, the political, the religious, and the frankly erotic. My favorites included “White Shroud,” “World Karma,” and “After Antipater.”

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ginsberg's work was a big influence on my stuff and how I write. I love his early stuff from "Howl" to "The Fall of America", but that's pretty much as far as I went. The structure of his poems gave me the confidence to break out of the rigid stanzas that most failed writers/poets turned critics espouse like bitter bible gospel that tangle tounges in razor wire vernacular and rhyming game endings. When a goodreads friend suggested I read "White Shroud" I was a bit cautious at first, but as I read through it, it was like saying "Hi" to an ol' friend. Ginsberg's style is still intact, but from '80 to '85 he seems like he's trying to come to terms with getting older and trying to cross the divide of "Allen Ginsberg: American Poet and Intellectual Superstar Icon" and his roots of a radical wordsmith whose comment of the personal and political galvanized minds and scared people without trying. The book starts out with a bang and there are some poems that lag at times, but it's a great read and a good look into the mind of a radical who's trying to come to terms with leftover baggage, success, and getting older.

[Frederic Germay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, an interesting collection of poems. Ginsberg certainly does have his own style, his dramatic flair, his politically inflamed passion, and while the pinnacle of his achievement will likely rest forever with "Howl," this collection hits a few high marks that come pretty close. There are also some low marks and some very 'very' salacious marks. The tip of the berg (ha!) for me lies with the eponymous "White Shroud," the sing-song revolutionary rally "Industrial Waves," and the sleepy desperate "They're All Phantoms of My Imagining." It's worth reading if you're already a fan of Ginsberg's work, basically.

[Anselm · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title poem is completely amazing.

[Brennan]

Personal, volatile and sad.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

some typical stuff that was a bit boring, but then some excellent pieces, including the poem of the same name.

[Jeff Jackson · Rating 2 out of 5]

First thought not always best thought.