Lot 308

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Lot 308
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Allen Ginsberg ALS and Beat Generation Broadside, Superb
Allen Ginsberg ALS and Beat Generation Broadside, Superb
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Allen Ginsberg ALS and Beat Generation Broadside, Superb

GINSBERG, ALLEN. Autograph Letter Signed, “Allen Ginsberg”, 1p, on the verso of a broadside advertisement for his poetry/prose reading series hosted at Brooklyn College, CUNY. Dated March 26, 1987, measures 8.5” x 16”. Flattened folds, some minor wear, else in near Fine condition.

Ginsberg’s letter to Ken Stuart and Juanita, in full, “Here at the last is the volume of Catullus translations by Jonathan Robbins [pseudonym of Jacob Rabinowitz]. I think Robbins is potentially a strong poet, oddly learned as well after a long period of immersion in the beat gutter with me, Corso, Burroughs & Harvey Smith in his teens. Now he’s an instructor at Brown Univ. & has mastered Greek Latin Hebrew & German French etc as well as some Arabic. / I think the translations are interesting, and if you know any place they could be published please suggest any ideas you have or paths to follow. I’d also be interested in any critique you have of the job. / In the long run Jno. Robbins will be an interesting writer to follow – as I have since he was a Rimbaud-like kid of 17. His own poems have an odd touch of Hart Crane genius power, but he’s still formulating his work there.”

Rabinowitz did have the above-mentioned translations published in 1991 under his real name, and became known for his scholarly works on antiquity, especially Hebrew culture. Ginsberg’s poetry collection “Cosmopolitan Greetings” contains a poem to Rabinowitz, who had briefly been his lover in the days of the “beat gutter”.

Ginsberg accepted an appointment as Distinguished Professor of English at Brooklyn College in 1986, in the poetry division of the Master of Fine Arts program, where he taught until his death, in 1997. The broadside, on the verso of which Ginsberg pens his letter, advertises a series of six poetry readings at the Brooklyn College Student Center.  Ginsberg's “Literary History of the Beat Generation” included readings by visiting poets Herbert Huncke, Robert Creeley, Philip Whalen, Ray Bremser, Peter Orlovsky, and Carl Solomon, who has signed at the bottom of the broadside, “Carl Solomon”.

ALLEN GINSBERG (1926-1997) was an American poet and writer. Arriving in New York City in 1944 to study at Columbia University, young Allen Ginsberg formed a close friendship with then-unknowns Jack Kerouac, Jack’s friend Neal Cassady and two legendary Times Square junkie outlaws, wise from their time on the streets, William S Burroughs and Herbert Huncke. These relationships eventually flowered into the original literary movement known as the Beat Generation. Ginsberg is best known for his poem "Howl", in which he denounced what he saw as the destructive forces of capitalism and conformity in the United States. In 1956, the poem was seized by the San Francisco police and the United States Customs, and it attracted widespread publicity in 1957, when it became the subject of an obscenity trial, as it described heterosexual and homosexual sex at a time when sodomy laws made homosexual acts a crime in every state. “Howl” reflected Ginsberg's own sexuality and his relationships with several men, including Peter Orlovsky, his lifelong partner. Judge Clayton W. Horn ruled that "Howl" was not obscene. Ginsberg played a highly visible role in a number of protest movements, including those in support of gay rights and against the Vietnam War, nuclear weapons, and U.S. policy in Latin America. Notable awards: National Book Award (1974) and Robert Frost Medal (1986).

CARL SOLOMON (1928-1993) was an American writer best known for his piece, “Report from the Asylum: Afterthoughts of a Shock Patient”. Solomon first met Ginsberg in the waiting room of the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Ginsberg later dedicated his poem “Howl” to Solomon, who claimed that the poem misstated events. The poem's third section uses the refrain "I'm with you in Rockland". Solomon’s many complaints included that he was "never in Rockland" and that the third section of the poem "garbles history completely". The reference to Rockland appears to be a poetic fabrication. Ginsberg likely used the name because it was more emphatic than "New York State Hospital".

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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