Journals: Mid-Fifties 1954-58

by Allen Ginsberg, Gordon Ball (Editor)

A journal account of the poet's emotions, affairs, friendships, family relationships, and travels during the mid-1950s and of the events and discoveries that shaped his controversial poetry

Genres: Poetry

489 pages, cloth

First published March 17, 1995

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

[Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ginsberg saying that Jesus Christ really “went thru it” is peak comedy

[Bob Primosch · Rating 4 out of 5]

For Ginsberg, language was freedom, not confinement, and it’s what animates his poetry.

[Sam Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard going at times but was enjoyable overall

[Craig Werner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dreambook, travelogue, generational chronicle, laboratory for the concocting of poems like "Howl" and "Kaddish," and searingly honest psycho-sexual excavation. I imagine you have to be pretty deeply immersed in Ginsberg and his milieu to fully appreciate this chaotic treasure trove of this, that and the kitchen sink, but it was a kick for me. I loved reading along as Ginsberg developed the notion of the ellipse that receives it's classic articulation at the end of Part I of "Howl." The many pages detailing the emotional and sexual agonies he experienced in his relationships with Neal Cassady and Peter Orlovsky make for some tough reading, but without them, there's a gap in the middle of the canvas. Warts and all, this is a key part of the story of a deeply lived life.

[Dr. Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely one of the more difficult reads of the Beat writers but that being said it is a collection from his journals. So it is his thoughts, works in progress and notes. If you have read many of the various Beat books this helps put a real world perspective on many of them and the role/character Allen played in those works. Definitely worth reading if you have travelled down the road a ways. If you are just getting started then wait on this one.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like GInsberg poetry, love Ginsberg's journals. I love that he is so willing to share so much of himself in every way. He was a wonderful, creative, interesting man.

[Saul Cabral]

When you can make sense of it, you can go on a trip with him to mexico, new york and other weird places.

[Amy Snodgrass · Rating 5 out of 5]

"dog to dog"

[Jay "Jakie" · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good. It is always interesting to read the letters, memoirs or journals of those writers one likes...it gives much more depth to understanding what their work is all about...I mean, that's obvious though, isn't it? A good biography of a writer often seems to reveal something or a great deal that a particular author doesn't reveal in their work or often illuminates that which you have already read.