Long Live Man

by Gregory Corso

A book of poems by a renowned member of the Beat Generation's inner circle. Long live Man! sings the poet Gregory Corso―despite atom bombs and computers, cold wars that get hot and togetherness that isn’t, too many cars and too little love…and in these poems he celebrates the wonders (and the laughs and griefs) of being a man alive. Whether he is musing on antic glories amid the ruins of the Acropolis or watching a New York child invent games on the city’s sidewalks, Corso is there in it, putting us into it, with the magic of vision, with the senses―awakening images, that transmute reality into something more―insights that let us share his joy and echo his shout of Long live Man!

Genres: Poetry, American

100 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 1962

About the author

Gregory Nunzio Corso was an American poet, youngest of the inner circle of Beat Generation writers.

Reviews

[Steven Godin]

Because of me narcotics are —
Useless you enforcers of safety
scheming ways and hows to keep out of me;
there is no out, there is only in,
and you are all in danger —

Useless to deface the world with:
Beware, Do Not Trespass, Skullcrossbones,
E Pericoloso Sporgersi —
My property is sorrow!
No fence
No warning there —

[Mat]

Wanted to give this 4 and a half stars but should dock off one star because a) Corso uses some esoteric references in some of the poem which makes them hard to understand and b) he uses some pretty hard (I believe antiquated or obsolete) vocabulary in his poems which leaves you reaching for the dictionary. Having said that, this is a very, very good book of poetry. I have been slowly working my way through Corso's work chronologically and he just gets better and better and better. Despite the usual esoterica in some of the poems, quite a few in this collection are sharp and clear to the reader, which works exceedingly well. And of course there is still that unmistakeable playfulness to his style, which is common to many of the beat writers and refreshing in its attempt NOT to be high-brow, low-brow or any brow for that matter. Just poems written for fun simply. It's funny how Corso did not release another book of poems until the early 70s after Kerouac's death. So this book. in some ways, marks the end of the first burst of poetry in Corso's career.
Looking forward to reading Elegiac Feelings American, a homage to Kerouac, someday soon.

[James]

Gregory Corso's "Long Live Man" was okay, and it did have a few poems I liked, but it didn't do much for me. I preferred his "Gasoline" collection much better.

[Jon Corelis]

"Gregory Corso’s an aphoristic poet, (commented Allen Ginsberg,) and a poet of ideas. What modern poets write with such terse clarity that their verses stick in the mind without effort?" My experience agrees with this. Gregory Corso was a great American poet and one of the best poets associated with the Beat movement. His work tends to be uneven, but his best poems are unforgettable classics. His 1962 collection Long Live Man is, I think, his best and most accessible. Unbelievably and shamefully it seems to be out of print, though available used from some book sellers.
—

[Jason Ly]

Kinda incomprehensible to me maybe because it was written in a different time. Did enjoy some of the comedic ones, the last poem writ on the eve of my 32'd birthday and the one that ends with him peeing outside at night stand out.

[Jessi]

So unbelievably clunky. I can’t believe this every got published. God, I hope this is Corso’s worst work so I don’t have to go through this again.

[Nick]

The Beats were more excited about life than anyone else

[Caroline H]

Some of these poems really got my gears turning. Will revisit.

[Peter Rowe]

It’s Chill