Written as a cultural weapon and a call to arms, Howl touched a raw nerve in Cold War America and has been controversial from the day it was first read aloud nearly fifty years ago. This first full critical and historical study of Howl brilliantly elucidates the nexus of politics and literature in which it was written and gives striking new portraits of Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and William Burroughs. Drawing from newly released psychiatric reports on Ginsberg, from interviews with his psychiatrist, Dr. Philip Hicks, and from the poet's journals, "American Scream" shows how Howl brought Ginsberg and the world out of the closet of a repressive society. It also gives the first full accounting of the literary figures - Eliot, Rimbaud, and Whitman - who influenced Howl, definitively placing it in the tradition of twentieth-century American poetry for the first time. As he follows the genesis and the evolution of Howl, Jonah Raskin constructs a vivid picture of a poet and an era. He illuminates the development of Beat poetry in New York and San Francisco in the 1950s - focusing on historic occasions such as the first reading of Howl at Six Gallery in San Francisco in 1955 and the obscenity trial over the poem's publication. He looks closely at Ginsberg's life, including his relationships with his parents, friends, and mentors, while he was writing the poem and uses this material to illuminate the themes of madness, nakedness, and secrecy that pervade Howl. A captivating look at the cultural climate of the Cold War and at a great American poet, "American Scream" finally tells the full story of Howl--a rousing manifesto for a generation and a classic of twentieth-century literature.

About the Author
Jonah Raskin is Professor and Chair of Communication Studies at Sonoma State University. Among other books, he is author of For the Hell of It: The Life and Times of Abbie Hoffman (California, 1997) and My Search for B. Traven (1980).

Reviews
"American Scream . . . seeks successfully, refreshingly to restore attention to Ginsberg's masterwork, a 3,600-word three-part salvo that shook the world of poetry, as well as the world of Postwar America. A masterful synthesis. Raskin unearths a wealth of new material and insight [and] manages to maintain the perfect balance of subjective enthusiasm and appreciation with an objective distance and clarity . . . Raskin performs an admirable act of literary restoration, crafting a proper appreciation for 'Howl' and its placement within the canon of 20th century American literature." * San Francisco Chronicle *
"This book is a pleasure to read. . . . Raskin captures wonderfully Ginsberg's feverish hunger for poetry and glory." * The Nation *
"Raskin thoughtfully investigates Cold War culture, beatnik behavior, and the confluence of characters, ideas, and personal history that made 'Howl' possible. American Scream is an engaging book." * Booklist *
"An excellent study of the poem in the context of its time and culture; highly recommended." * Library Journal *
"Reads like a novel . . . Though Raskin's tone is partisan, he writes as an evenhanded (and erudite) student of literature, politics, and culture. [Raskin rescues] the Beats from social caricature or obscurity, returning them to political and cultural relevance." * SF Station *
"Presents the kind of determined and insightful examination in to the mind and world of Allen Ginsberg that both Ginsberg and 'Howl' deserve." * Poetry Flash *
"Essential reading . . . Raskin has shaped an enormous amount of research . . . into a compelling inside look at Ginsberg." * Northern California Bohemian *



Book Information
ISBN 9780520246775
Author Jonah Raskin
Format Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint University of California Press
Publisher University of California Press
Weight(grams) 363g
Dimensions(mm) 210mm * 140mm * 20mm