To celebrate the 50th anniversary of ''Howl and Other
Poems, '' with nearly one million copies in print, City
Lights presents the story of editing, publishing, and
defending Allen Ginsberg's landmark poem within a
broader context of obscenity issues and censorship of
literary works.This collection begins with an
introduction by publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who
shares his memories of hearing ''Howl'' first read at
the 6 Gallery, of his arrest, and the subsequent legal
defense of ''Howl'''s publication.
Never-before--published correspondence of Ginsberg,
Ferlinghetti, Kerouac, Gregory Corso, John Hollander,
Richard Eberhart, and others provides an in-depth
commentary on the poem's ethi-cal intent and its social
significance to the author and his contemporaries. A
section on the public reaction to the trial includes
newspaper reportage, op-ed pieces by Ginsberg and
Ferlinghetti, and letters to the editor from the public,
which provide fascinating background material on the
cultural climate of the mid-1950s. A timeline of
literary censorship in the United States places this
battle for free expression in a historical context.Also
included are photographs, transcripts of relevant trial
testimony, Judge Clayton Horn's decision and its
ramifications, and a long essay by Albert Bendich, the
ACLU attorney who defended ''Howl'' on constitutional
grounds. Editor Bill Morgan discusses more recent
challenges to ''Howl'' in the late 1980s and how the
fight against censorship continues today in new
guises. |
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