La Jornada: Allen Ginsberg, essential figure of literature who became global consciousness

This Wednesday, June 3, commemorates the centenary of the birth of the poet Allen Ginsberg, an essential figure in American literature who became global consciousness. He died in 1997 and his imprint extended beyond his emblematic poetry collections. Howl y Kaddish.

Ginsberg’s importance permeated many areas, countries and beyond his lifetime. Passionate about travel and spiritual seeker, he influenced the defense of human life and dignity; also in his role as photographer, composer, teacher and creator of paths for other literatures.

He was a public reference for millions of people who had not read his poetry. A text written by Michael Schumacher about him, published on the Allen Ginsberg Project website, highlights that “like Whitman, the basis of Ginsberg’s work was the idea that individual thoughts and experiences resonated with the masses.

“‘It occurs to me that I am the United States,’ Ginsberg wrote, and although the statement was intended to be humorous, it also illustrated his idea that democracy begins with raising a single voice. At the peak of his fame, Allen Ginsberg was without a doubt one of the most representative symbols of the United States – or at least of a large part of the country.”

Howl

The American researcher and academic Brian Price noted that Ginsberg’s masterpiece, Howl, “describes with simultaneously tender, painful and beautiful language the difficulties of the misunderstood who, in the absence of a safe and acceptable state within modern society, are forced to inhabit precarious and violent spaces, who wander the streets of Idaho, Oklahoma or Chicago, and even disappear in the volcanoes of Mexico, seeking the protection that Eisenhowerian utopian modernity denies them.”

The author, born a century ago in New Jersey, “manages to recognize and elevate the marginal experience of madness, addiction and homosexuality through language in the same way as the Argentine José Hernández with the gauchos, the Cuban Nicolás Guillén with the Afro-Caribbeans and José Agustín with the youth of the Mexican capital,” the professor pointed out.

Ginsberg’s position, in opposition to power, war and imperialism, was not without controversy. He was the center of a trial for obscenity of his masterpiece Howl, which led to his permanent obsession with the issues of freedom of religion, expression and the press of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Ginsberg’s opinion was heard for his fight against the Vietnam War and his support for gay and drug rights (he participated in Timothy Leary’s incipient experiments using silocybin and LSD). He is credited with creating the phrase flower power, which refers to the power of nonviolence and which became key to the global youth movement of the 1960s.

The FBI devoted constant surveillance to Ginsberg, who appeared before a Senate drug subcommittee. His political essays were widely read.

Current work

Today, Schumacher wrote at the beginning of this millennium, “almost all of his books continue to be published. Four volumes of writings and interviews have been published posthumously, and new books of diaries and correspondence will be published soon. His poems frequently appear in anthologies around the world, and his photographs are constantly reused in books and magazines. Universities offer courses on Ginsberg and the generation beat.

Allen Ginsberg developed a modestly successful musical career and influenced singers, musicians and composers of the time, many of whom are still active.

He recorded albums, including those he composed to accompany the poetry collections Songs of Innocence y Songs of Experience, by William Blake, as well as two independent recordings known as First Blues. Part of his work was set to music by composer Philip Glass.

Ginsberg accompanied tours by Bob Dylan, The Fugs, Phil Ochs, The Clash and Patti Smith. His last piece was Ballad of the Skeletons, in which Glass, Lenny Kaye, Marc Ribot and Paul McCartney participated. The video was filmed by director Gus van Sant.

Ginsberg’s travels allowed him to open his mind. He had long stays in Mexico, South America, Europe and India. From his journey, his interest in Eastern religions was born. He adopted formal Buddhist vows.

The author’s ideology was translated into action. As an example, he organized the Meeting of the Tribes for a Human Be-In (refers to an event in which people go and “just be”). This marked the beginning of countercultural festivals and inspired hundreds more.

Ginsberg was arrested in New York in 1967 for demonstrating against the draft and the war. Five years later he was imprisoned for marching against then-President Richard Nixon.