On 25th March, 1957 US Customs seized copies of Allen Ginsberg’s poem Howl on grounds of obscenity, securing the poem’s place in cult classic history. The ensuing events saw City Lights Bookstore owner, poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Allen Ginsberg arrested as both played the ‘I’m Spartacus’ role of both claiming to be the author. The pair were charged with disseminating obscene literature and both were arrested with a court case to follow.
The poem was eventually deemed to be not obscene by Judge Clayton W. Horn in a court case on October 3rd, 1957, and eventually released as part of a poetry collection titled Howl and other Poems (US – UK).
It’s certainly dark and makes reference to religion, sex, society and various other elements. You can listen to the poem below:
If like me you enjoyed it, but could barely make sense of it all, you can find out more about Howl and the references it makes on the Howl’s Wiki page.
