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Beat Memories: The Photographs of Allen Ginsberg
This intimate family album is a revealing photographic look at the Beat Generation as chronicled by the movement s great poet Allen Ginsberg. Allen Ginsberg began photographing in the late 1940s when he purchased a small, second-hand Kodak camera. For the next fifteen years he took photographs of himself, his friends, and lovers, including the writers and poets Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs, and Gregory Corso as well as Beat personality Neal Cassady. He abandoned photography in 1963 and took it up again in the 1980s, when he was encouraged by photographers Berenice Abbott and Robert Frank to reprint his earlier work and make new portraits; these included more images of longtime friends as well other acquaintances such as painters Larry Rivers and Francesco Clemente and musician Bob Dylan. Ginsberg's photographs form a compelling portrait of the Beat and counterculture generation from the 1950s to the 1990s. Far more than historical documents, his photographs and the extensive inscriptions he added to them years later preserve what he referred to as 'the sacredness of the moment,' the often joyous communion of friends and the poignancy of looking back to intensely felt times. More than seventy prints are brilliantly reproduced in this book and accompanied by Sarah Greenough's essay on Ginsberg's photography in relation to his poetry and other photographers of the time, a chronology of his photographic activity, and selections from interviews with Ginsberg between 1958 and 1996.
144 pages, Hardcover
First published May 20, 2010
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About the author
Allen Ginsberg
490 books4,102 followersAllen 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 10, 2025
Seeing With The Eyes Of Angels
The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. is currently (May 2 -- September 6,2010) exhibiting a collection of photographs by the American poet Allen Ginsberg (1926 -- 1997). The Beats remain one of my passions. The book is produced and edited by Sarah Greenough, senior curator and head of the department of photographs at the National Gallery. Greenough sets the stage for the photographs which follow with an insightful introductory essay bearing the title of this review. She discusses Ginsberg's use of photography at various times during his life and relates his photographic endeavors to his poetry.
Together with Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs, Ginsberg was at the center of a small group of young men in the vicinity of Columbia University in the mid-1940s who would become notorious as the "Beats" of the 1950s. As described by Greenough (p.7), "the Beats were outsiders with a keen appreciation of life on the edge. Often living hand-to-mouth and uninterested in middle-class American culture, values, and morality, they embraced instead an alternative lifestyle which promoted personal freedom, sexual openness, spontanaiety, movement, and speed."
Ginsberg had an epiphany in the 1940s which led him to his calling as a poet. He would become famous as the author of "Howl" and "Kaddish." In his early years, he gradually developed an interest in photography, taking most of his pictures on an inexpensive box camera. He essentially gave up photography in the 1960s but recovered his interest in the medium in the 1980s and returned to his long-forgotten photographs of years earlier. In a small but generally legible script, Ginsberg added annotations to many of his earlier pictures. In his latter years, Ginsberg's photographs attracted considerable interest, and he taught courses and lectured together with the famous photographer Robert Frank.
In 1990,Ginsberg offered the following description of the impact of his photography which serves as a preface to the pictures in this volume: "The poignancy of a photograph comes from looking back to a fleeting moment in a floating world." Ginsberg's photos capture people, places, and moods of the utmost transience. Yet they are preserved and speak to the viewer through the medium of photographic art. These photographs have a sense of immediacy and spontaniety, especially for those viewers interested in the Beats.
The written annotations add a great deal to the photographs and, with effort, are legible. The annotations are also given in print in the "Checklist" section of the volume. There are many unforgettable photographs of both a young and a prematurely aged Jack Kerouac, including the photo on the cover of the volume and a photo of the charismatically handsome Kerouac standing of the fire escape of Ginsberg's apartment and gazing over east Manhattan in 1953. There are many photographs of William Burroughs as well,, including a photo of Burroughs lecturing Kerouac on the need to leave home and break his dependence on his mother. (p. 42) Neal Cassady is featured in several photographs, including a timeless scene from San Francisco in March 1955 with Cassady and his lover of the time embracing in front of a movie marquis. (p.53) There are revealing photographs of poets Gregory Corso and Gary Snyder, of aging early figures in the "Beat" movement, Lucien Carr (p.83) and Herbert Hunke (p.78) and of others affiliated with the Beats or with Ginsberg over the years.
There are photographs of Allen Ginsberg himself, from his youth to old age and a rare photograph of his parents (p.29) and other family members. Ginsberg's long-term lover, Peter Orlovsky, receives a good deal of attention, as does Orlovsky's family. And the book includes many irreplaceable photographs of places, especially New York City, such as the 1953 photograph of what Ginsberg's annotation describes as a "shopping cart street prophet" (p.35) and photographs shot from Ginsberg's window onto Manhattan's lower east side late in his life (pp 98,99).
The book is in a large format printed on glossy paper with excellent reproductions. In addition to the photographic plates and Greenough's introduction, the volume includes a chronology of Ginsberg's involvement with photography and the text of a 1991 interview of Ginsberg on photography conducted by Thomas Gladysz, who also reviewed this volume here on Goodreads.
This book will be treasured by those interested in the Beats. For those planning to be in Washington D.C., a visit to the National Gallery always is rewarding. This exhibit will be worth your time.
Robin Friedman
The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. is currently (May 2 -- September 6,2010) exhibiting a collection of photographs by the American poet Allen Ginsberg (1926 -- 1997). The Beats remain one of my passions. The book is produced and edited by Sarah Greenough, senior curator and head of the department of photographs at the National Gallery. Greenough sets the stage for the photographs which follow with an insightful introductory essay bearing the title of this review. She discusses Ginsberg's use of photography at various times during his life and relates his photographic endeavors to his poetry.
Together with Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs, Ginsberg was at the center of a small group of young men in the vicinity of Columbia University in the mid-1940s who would become notorious as the "Beats" of the 1950s. As described by Greenough (p.7), "the Beats were outsiders with a keen appreciation of life on the edge. Often living hand-to-mouth and uninterested in middle-class American culture, values, and morality, they embraced instead an alternative lifestyle which promoted personal freedom, sexual openness, spontanaiety, movement, and speed."
Ginsberg had an epiphany in the 1940s which led him to his calling as a poet. He would become famous as the author of "Howl" and "Kaddish." In his early years, he gradually developed an interest in photography, taking most of his pictures on an inexpensive box camera. He essentially gave up photography in the 1960s but recovered his interest in the medium in the 1980s and returned to his long-forgotten photographs of years earlier. In a small but generally legible script, Ginsberg added annotations to many of his earlier pictures. In his latter years, Ginsberg's photographs attracted considerable interest, and he taught courses and lectured together with the famous photographer Robert Frank.
In 1990,Ginsberg offered the following description of the impact of his photography which serves as a preface to the pictures in this volume: "The poignancy of a photograph comes from looking back to a fleeting moment in a floating world." Ginsberg's photos capture people, places, and moods of the utmost transience. Yet they are preserved and speak to the viewer through the medium of photographic art. These photographs have a sense of immediacy and spontaniety, especially for those viewers interested in the Beats.
The written annotations add a great deal to the photographs and, with effort, are legible. The annotations are also given in print in the "Checklist" section of the volume. There are many unforgettable photographs of both a young and a prematurely aged Jack Kerouac, including the photo on the cover of the volume and a photo of the charismatically handsome Kerouac standing of the fire escape of Ginsberg's apartment and gazing over east Manhattan in 1953. There are many photographs of William Burroughs as well,, including a photo of Burroughs lecturing Kerouac on the need to leave home and break his dependence on his mother. (p. 42) Neal Cassady is featured in several photographs, including a timeless scene from San Francisco in March 1955 with Cassady and his lover of the time embracing in front of a movie marquis. (p.53) There are revealing photographs of poets Gregory Corso and Gary Snyder, of aging early figures in the "Beat" movement, Lucien Carr (p.83) and Herbert Hunke (p.78) and of others affiliated with the Beats or with Ginsberg over the years.
There are photographs of Allen Ginsberg himself, from his youth to old age and a rare photograph of his parents (p.29) and other family members. Ginsberg's long-term lover, Peter Orlovsky, receives a good deal of attention, as does Orlovsky's family. And the book includes many irreplaceable photographs of places, especially New York City, such as the 1953 photograph of what Ginsberg's annotation describes as a "shopping cart street prophet" (p.35) and photographs shot from Ginsberg's window onto Manhattan's lower east side late in his life (pp 98,99).
The book is in a large format printed on glossy paper with excellent reproductions. In addition to the photographic plates and Greenough's introduction, the volume includes a chronology of Ginsberg's involvement with photography and the text of a 1991 interview of Ginsberg on photography conducted by Thomas Gladysz, who also reviewed this volume here on Goodreads.
This book will be treasured by those interested in the Beats. For those planning to be in Washington D.C., a visit to the National Gallery always is rewarding. This exhibit will be worth your time.
Robin Friedman
April 17, 2021
Beat literature really opened my eyes and all things Beat remain a fascination. This is a beautifully put together book and those with a similar interest will adore...
August 31, 2010
"Beat Memories: The Photographs of Allen Ginsberg" is the catalog to an exhibit of the acclaimed poet's photographs exhibited at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. It is beautifully printed, and the catalog essay by renowned curator and photo historian Sarah Greenough is both informative and insightful. Ginsberg, Kerouac, Burroughs, Corso, Cassady and Orlovsky are pictured throughout - as are Bob Dylan and many others. Ginsberg's work as a photographer should not come as a surprise; his poetry is intensely visual, and his aesthetics as a visual artist were similar to his aesthetics as a poet. Also, Ginsberg associated with visual artists throughout his life - and they inform his work. This new book contains portraits of some of them - Larry Rivers, Francesco Clemente, Harry Smith, and Robert LaVigne. Ginsberg "teachers" in photography were Robert Frank (also pictured), and to a lesser degree, Berenice Abbott, and Elsa Dorfman.
For various reasons (the beautiful printing, uncommon images, Greenough's insightful essay), this book should now be included among the must-have books on Beat culture. My 1991 interview with Allen Ginsberg on the subject of photography takes up 7 pages. There is also a extensive chronology of Ginsberg's efforts as a visual artist, and a bibliography of related works. Get this book now.
For various reasons (the beautiful printing, uncommon images, Greenough's insightful essay), this book should now be included among the must-have books on Beat culture. My 1991 interview with Allen Ginsberg on the subject of photography takes up 7 pages. There is also a extensive chronology of Ginsberg's efforts as a visual artist, and a bibliography of related works. Get this book now.
August 14, 2011
poet. oh yeah. and photographer. and a real nice and kind guy. i met him on numerous occasions.
December 29, 2011
A- Beautiful beat photos of Allen's - you get a nice sense of the pictoral evidence of the time period!
June 1, 2012
Great images.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews