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Prosa und Lyrik / Poetry
»Amerikas Ikone« DIE ZEIT – Allen Ginsbergs wichtigste Prosastücke, erstmals auf Deutsch. Allen Ginsberg war die große Leitfigur der Beat Generation. Mit seinen Werken sorgte er immer wieder für Kontroversen, indem er Drogen, Sex und Politik direkt thematisierte. Wie konnte aus einem gepeinigten jungen Mann einer der einflussreichsten Intellektuellen und Künstler der Nachkriegszeit werden? Ginsberg hat keine Autobiographie veröffentlicht in der Überzeugung, dass sein Werk alles Wesentliche enthält. Michael Kellner, der Allen Ginsberg selbst kannte, hat die wichtigsten Prosatexte in diesem Band zusammengestellt. Das vielschichtige Porträt, das sich so zusammensetzt, kann nicht alle Lebenswidersprüche auflösen, aber dem bisherigen Bild neue Facetten hinzufügen. Vor allem zeigt es, wie sehr es sich lohnt, sich neu mit Ginsberg und seinem herausragenden Werk zu beschäftigen. Die Prosa liegt erstmals auf Deutsch vor, übersetzt und mit einem Nachwort versehen von Michael Kellner. Mit bislang unveröffentlichten Fotos zum 25. Todestag des Dichters am 5. April 2022.
Hardcover
Published February 14, 2022
About the author
Allen Ginsberg
560 books4,177 followersAllen 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 14, 2022
The second newly published volume honoring Ginsberg (the first one being Lyrik / Poetry) offers selected prose texts, which are available in German for the first time in translation and with an afterword by Michael Kellner. The book combines essays, excerpts from Ginsberg's diaries, interviews and letters. Even if the volume is less suitable for newcomers to the cosmos of Ginsberg and the Beat Generation, the texts are still exciting for readers who want to delve deeper into some aspects of the character Ginsberg, such as his views on other poets or his expulsion from Cuba. The volume also includes photos as atmospheric contemporary documents showing many members of the Beats circle, from Kerouac and Burroughs to Neal Cassady and poets Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Gregory Corso.
May 20, 2025
Einblick in eine mir bisher unbekannte Welt/Generation/Bewegung.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews