A very personal look at Allen Ginsberg! | The Letters of Allen Ginsberg

book: The Letters of Allen Ginsberg | Allen Ginsberg, Bill Morgan

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	• The Letters of Allen Ginsberg Allen Ginsberg, Bill Morgan Da Capo Press, 2008 - 432 pages average customer review:based on 2 reviews view larger image
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Another Insight of Allen Ginsberg

Is the art of letter writing obsolete? Has the computer overtaken this longstanding form of communication that gives all writers their emotional and comfortable voice?

I read THE LETTERS OF ALLEN GINSBERG, edited by Bill Morgan, which proves the case for the importance and collection of such discourse, letter writing. Morgan has again compiled a masterpiece of Ginsberg's work to equal his brilliant biography, I CELEBRATE MYSELF: THE SOMEWHAT PRIVATE LIFE OF ALLEN GINSBERG with his latest collection of 165 letters selected from more than 3700 letters in a "greatest hits album" as Bill Morgan calls it. Morgan has selected correspondence of Ginsberg with such notables as : Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, Lionel Trilling, Arthur Miller, Ken Kesey, Timothy Leary, Gregory Corso, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and many more on a huge variety of political and social issues.

I found every letter in the book very interesting. One that intrigued me was the correspondence on 10/04/1962 between Ginsberg and Bertrand Russell, the Nobel Prize Lauereate who stated that nuclear destruction of the planet was inevitable. Ginsberg became very concerned and replied in a letter about the end of existence. He said in one point of his letter, " All I know is, I've lived in the midst of apparent wordly events and apparent transcendental insights, and it all adds up to I don't know what. I hardly trust any appearance anymore, statistical or intuitive. I'd rather drift and see. "

I think Ginsberg's philosophy was just that, a drifting observation of the world events around him. He truly was a literary genius of the twentieth century, and I congratulate Bill Morgan for another masterwork on Allen Ginsberg. If ten stars were available to obtain for a superb collection of letters, this book would easily meet that expectation.

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A very personal look at Allen Ginsberg!

A wonderful and insightful collection of letters that have been saved like the historic documents they really are. This collection of words from one of the great beat poets, Allen Ginsberg, was a delightful and intellectual discovery. I will have to admit to being a huge fan of the poets of that era; they expressed freedom not just with their words but with their lives. His words give the reader a better look at his naked soul. The letters show his emotional and spiritual evolution; and at times, the negative dark side that was also a part of Gingsberg. I felt it was a statement of who he was at those particular periods of his life.

This book is truly amazing for having preserved and recovered such an array of personal letters to so many famous and powerful souls. The creative circle that surrounded Gingsberg is impressive. His communications with them are insightful and sometimes whimsical or angry or funny but always entertaining and interesting!

This is a treasure chest of golden prose and the thoughts of the beat generation. It covers a long period of Gingsberg's adult life. Through his correspondence you can witness how he engaged every kind of issue from sex, and politics to religion and personal relationships. This is the kind of book that says more than any biography ever could have. We see and feel life and the world through the eyes of this most noble and free thinking poet; one that we will perhaps, never see the likes of again in our lifetimes!

I fully recommend this book to all lovers of poetry, the beat movement, history or those who love great prose. It is well worth your time! Definitely a FIVE STAR BOOK!

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Allen Ginsberg (1926?1997) was one of twentieth-century literature?s most prolific letter-writers. This definitive volume showcases his correspondence with some of the most original and interesting artists of his time, including Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, Gregory Corso, Neal Cassady, Lionel Trilling, Charles Olson, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Philip Whalen, Peter Orlovsky, Philip Glass, Arthur Miller, Ken Kesey, and hundreds of others.

Through his letter writing, Ginsberg coordinated the efforts of his literary circle and kept everyone informed about what everyone else was doing. He also preached the gospel of the Beat movement by addressing political and social issues in countless letters to publishers, editors, and the news media, devising an entirely new way to educate readers and disseminate information. Drawing from numerous sources, this collection is both a riveting life in letters and an intimate guide to understanding an entire creative generation.

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