Journals: Early Fifties, Early Sixties

by Allen Ginsberg, Gordon Ball (Editor)

In the 1950s and early 1960s, Allen Ginsberg and his fellow Beats led an insurrection that profoundly altered the American literary and cultural landscapes. Collected here are journal entries culled from eighteen notebooks that Ginsberg kept during this extraordinary period—thoughts, poems, dreams, reflections, and diary notes that intimately illuminate Ginsberg's actual travels and his mental journeys. They reveal a remarkable and fascinating life: conversations with William Carlos Williams; drug experiences; a chance meeting with Dylan Thomas; stays in Mexico, San Francisco, and New York; first impressions of "Naked Lunch"; bits and pieces of "America, Kaddish" and other poems; political "ravings"; and, of course, times with William S. Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, Gergory Corso, Herbert Huncke, Peter Orlovsky, and many, many others. What emerges is a truly unique personal account that will touch the mind and the soul.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Biography, Journal, Literature, Diary, Memoir

320 pages, paper

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Allen Ginsberg was a groundbreaking American poet and activist best known for his central role in the Beat Generation and for writing the landmark poem Howl. Born in 1926 in Newark, New Jersey, to Jewish parents, Ginsberg grew up in a household shaped by both intellectualism and psychological struggle. His father, Louis Ginsberg, was a published poet and a schoolteacher, while his mother, Naomi, suffered from severe mental illness, which deeply affected Ginsberg and later influenced his writing—most notably in his poem Kaddish.
As a young man, Ginsberg attended Columbia University, where he befriended other future Beat luminaries such as Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, and Neal Cassady. These relationships formed the core of what became known as the Beat Generation—a loose-knit group of writers and artists who rejected mainstream American values in favor of personal liberation, spontaneity, spiritual exploration, and radical politics.
Ginsberg rose to national prominence in 1956 with the publication of Howl and Other Poems, released by City Lights Books in San Francisco. Howl, an emotionally charged and stylistically experimental poem, offered an unfiltered vision of America’s underbelly. It included candid references to homosexuality, drug use, and mental illness—subjects considered taboo at the time. The poem led to an obscenity trial, which ultimately concluded in Ginsberg’s favor, setting a precedent for freedom of speech in literature.
His work consistently challenged social norms and addressed themes of personal freedom, sexual identity, spirituality, and political dissent. Ginsberg was openly gay at a time when homosexuality was still criminalized in much of the United States, and he became a vocal advocate for LGBTQ+ rights throughout his life. His poetry often intertwined the personal with the political, blending confessional intimacy with a broader critique of American society.
Beyond his literary achievements, Ginsberg was also a dedicated activist. He protested against the Vietnam War, nuclear proliferation, and later, U.S. foreign policy in Latin America. He was present at many pivotal cultural and political moments of the 1960s and 1970s, including the 1968 Democratic National Convention and various countercultural gatherings. His spiritual journey led him to Buddhism, which deeply influenced his writing and worldview. He studied under Tibetan teacher Chögyam Trungpa and helped establish the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado.
Ginsberg’s later years were marked by continued literary output and collaborations with musicians such as Bob Dylan and The Clash. His poetry collections, including Reality Sandwiches, Planet News, and The Fall of America, were widely read and respected. He received numerous honors for his work, including the National Book Award for Poetry in 1974.
He died of liver cancer in 1997 at the age of 70. Today, Allen Ginsberg is remembered not only as a pioneering poet, but also as a courageous voice for free expression, social justice, and spiritual inquiry. His influence on American literature and culture remains profound and enduring.

Reviews

[Danilo Scardamaglio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Diario beat è la raccolta di diari e taccuini compilati da Ginsberg nel decennio 1952-1962, quando Allen muoveva i suoi primi passi da poeta e iniziava ad affermarsi come scrittore di eccezionale valore, e pubblicati sotto la sua supervisione qualche decennio più tardi. Nel Diario c'è tutto ciò che si potrebbe aspettare dal rappresentante di spicco della poesia beat: viaggi, trip allucinogeni, sesso, randagismo, ossature e scheletri di poesie, alcune abbandonate nelle pagine dei diari, altre che saranno germe ad alcuni grandi componimenti del corpus lirico ginsberghiano. Per lo più abbondano stesure di sogni vissuti dal poeta, alcuni giusto abbozzati, alcuni trattati specificamente, con l'intento da parte di Ginsberg di sviscerare la materia onirica e comprendere l'essenza che si cela al di sotto dell'immagine. Alla lunga un po' stancano, essendo il contenuto ricorrente (sesso e feste), ma sono interessantissimi, assieme a scene tratteggiate di serate vissute dall'autore, per delineare l'intera scena beat degli anni cinquanta sessanta, caratterizzando alcuni dei grandi interpreti della letteratura americana e mondiale di quel periodo: Borroughs, Kerouac, Corso e così via, oltre che ovviamente dello stesso Allen. Per quanto invece i viaggi del poeta siano interessanti per gli itinerari tracciati e vissuti, non hanno una amplificazione letteraria, restano per lo più la registrazione piatta di ciò che Ginsberg osserva. Il Diario è interessante se si intende dunque comprendere e sviscerare la figura di Ginsberg uomo e poeta, penetrare nella sua vita e nel suo laboratorio privato di scrittura, e comprendere al meglio gli affetti, le relazioni spesso anche complesse tra i grandi scrittori beat: altrimenti passate oltre.

[Sarah Rigg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was juggling this, a collection of his poetry, and a volume of his letters to Neal Cassady all during fall 1991 during my sophomore year of college. I was an English major, but it wasn't for class, just pleasure reading. I got kind of obsessed with the Beats and read a lot of their stuff in my teens and early 20s.

[Harley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best journals I have ever read of anyone!

[Sophie · Rating 1 out of 5]

We get it, you do drugs.

[heidola · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sembra che Ginsberg abbia passato la vita a dormire, leggendo dei suoi sogni in questo diario beat. Bisogna scavare tra allucinazioni erotiche, descrizioni minuziose di luoghi inesistenti, pensieri confusi dall’abuso di stupefacenti, degrado, disperazione e rabbia per trovare... se non si è persa del tutto la concentrazione... un paio di perle da custodire. Terminato questo lavoro estenuante di escavazione, non sorprende che siano praticamente introvabili edizioni successive a quella del 1979 di questa opera.

[Yooperprof · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope. I gave up on this about halfway through - just wasn't worth going further. (And I almost never abandon books once I am more than 100 pages in.) These journals started out okay, fairly interesting reports on Ginsberg's travels and his encounters with other "beat" authors. But it turns into what essentially seems a drug journal, an unfiltered and unedited account of his stray and random "daytime dreaming" thoughts composed largely under the influence of various substances.I thought it was quite tedious.

[Mary Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

From my father, as a gift. Super duper!

[Saara · Rating 3 out of 5]

read this in geneve this summer... crazy man... brilliant writer... mad life... wooah

[Devonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

TRIPPY. Enough said.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Acquired 1999
The Word, Montreal, Quebec

[Kevin Kizer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haven't read much Ginsberg lately. I was in need of a Ginzy injection, so to speak.

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Mr. Allen Ginsberg. That being said, I didn't enjoy the journals as much as his letters or the transcripts of his lectures. But there were still shining Allen moments.

[Greta · Rating 4 out of 5]

a great insight into this extraordinary personality, his poem drafts and dream records. loved the way Allen was looking for the meaning of eternity. not an easy read though, but enjoyable

[Dan Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a fan of Ginsberg, it's a must-read.

[Claire Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

i should write my dreams down more, and just as always the beat poets get something in me that nothing else does

[Darian]

fun