I know, I know. Banned Books Week was last week. But fifty-three years ago today Allen Ginsburg first read his poem "Howl" at the Six Gallery in San Francisco.
The poem was an immediate success that rocked the Beat literary world and set the tone for confessional poetry of the 1960s and later. "Howl and Other Poems" was printed in England, but its second edition was seized by customs officials as it entered the U.S. ...City Lights, a San Francisco bookstore, published the book itself to avoid customs problems, and storeowner (and poet) Lawrence Ferlinghetti was arrested and tried for obscenity, but defended by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Following testimony from nine literary experts on the merits of the book, Ferlinghetti was found not guilty.
Open thread below...
