I was quite
surprised when I actually enjoyed reading Howl,
the famous poem written by Allen Ginsburg for Carl Solomon. It is interesting
to me that I actually enjoyed the poem because it is written very similar to
Jack Kerouac’s On the Road which I
did not enjoy at all. I was curious in what Ginsburg was going to write next on
his view of life. This poem was truly a page-turner. The stream of
consciousness writing is not usually my cup of tea, but Ginsburg does a great
job at making the topics flow well and keeping his readers interesting.
It
was asked in class whether this poem was a happy one or not, and in my opinion
there is an obvious answer. It can be seen from the first stanza of the poem
that this is not a happy poem but rather a gloomy one. This poem is ultimately
about the misery and anguish of Ginsberg and his peers during the “beat
generation.” Stanza after stanza are descriptions of the miserable lives that
they are enduring. From homelessness to starvation, these hipsters are just
looking for a quick fix to their problems. “Who wondered around and around at
midnight in the railroad yard wondering where to go…,” is a quote that I
believe perfectly describes their situations. These hipsters don’t live the
quintessential American lifestyle, instead they wonder around looking for their
salvation, which is described as sex and jazz, though the two don’t usually fix
their problems. “Who lounged hungry and lonesome through Houston seeking jazz
or sex or soup…,” this quote obviously reinforces my idea. Though they are
eagerly searching for jazz and sex thinking it will be a fix to their problems,
it is obviously not working. Instead, they are finding a sort of bandage to the
problem instead of a cure.
Howl is an
illustrative poem in the way that it is easy to come up with pictures of what
Ginsburg is describing in your head. This I believe is also a reason of why I
enjoyed the poem as much as I did. I am not usually one to enjoy poems, I much
rather read a story and get all of the details straight forward, but with Howl I believe that Ginsburg give good
descriptions and is able to get his point across to his audience. Howl: A
Graphic Novel does a phenomenal job in captivating the audience and drawing
them into the true essence of the poem. The illustrations show as much passion
and appetite as the poem does keeping the reader entertained throughout the
whole thing.
I was extremely surprised
to be so drawn into the poem and wanting to learn more about Ginsburg and his
peer’s past. I feel that they lived the kind of life that nobody thinks its
possible. Though they suffered from poverty and starvation, they lived the life
they wanted to live without thinking of the consequences or the opinions of
others. These men were brilliant in their own way and I cannot wait to read
more about their lives.
Ashley, I completely agree with your point about "Howl" being an "illustrative poem." Ginsberg's work is typically based in imagery. Think of some of the hilarious and fresh images in "A Supermarket in California," for example. I believe that poetry should be composed of nothing but images; poetry is not the place for abstractions or concepts. However, Ginsberg does a brilliant job of blending abstractions and images in his poetry. As readers we are able to picture most of the poem while still relating to the cultural or philosophical ideas that Ginsberg concerned himself with. This blend, I think, is the reason why "Howl" is such a joy to read: we can visualize the images and find space within to the poem to talk and think about the concepts expressed in Ginsberg's poetry.
ReplyDeleteHey Ashley, I agree with you that "Howl" is a negative poem, but that the men who it is written about are brilliant. It seems that their brilliance it what has lead them to this madness and loneliness. A life full of drugs, desperation and one night stands in defiantly unfulfilling and no way to live, let alone a way to reach a level of enlightenment, since the high always wears off. I know people use drugs for religious purposes, but it just seems counterproductive to me. I also agree with what you said about the graphics and how they do a great job at illustrating what Ginsberg wanted to say.
ReplyDeleteI think the reason you liked this piece more than On The Road is you may favor a more poetic approach to the beat. I'm for exposition and all, but to me the beat lifestyles begs a poetic perspective. I am no so sure about the beats being an unhappy people. They reveled in practically everything they did. Maybe I'm wrong; they are human after all the madness subsides.
ReplyDeleteI'm in the same boat as you: I don't usually enjoy poetry either, but I really got into Howl and I think it was because of all the unique descriptions.
ReplyDeleteI'm not so sure if Howl is completely negative though. The beats did go through a lot of suffering but in a sense I got that they were proud to suffer if it meant staying true to themselves and not mindlessly conforming like many others did.
Looking at the Beats lifestyle as an outsider, I agree with you when you said, "Though they are eagerly searching for jazz and sex thinking it will be a fix to their problems, it is obviously not working. Instead, they are finding a sort of bandage to the problem instead of a cure." To the average person, their behavior does seem like a cry for help and Howl thus seemed negative in that respect. But I feel that in his writing, Ginsberg was actually celebrating this lifestyle rather lamenting its effects, so perhaps Howl is a more positive poem than it appears at its surface.
ReplyDeleteI was in the same position as you, as far as really disliking On the Road but finding "Howl" to be more dynamic and compelling. One of my major issues with On the Road was Kerouac's experiences seeming like a list of places he went and people he met, and I wasn't always able to really picture what was happening (or I simply wasn't interested). Even if Ginsberg's poem is slightly removed from reality at certain points, I felt like it was better at capturing the experiences and struggles that accompanied a Beat lifestyle. Although Kerouac used the same sort of stream-of-consciousness narrative, I feel like this method worked to artistically enhance Ginsberg's poem, which I didn't feel with Kerouac's novel.
ReplyDeleteWell I am glad that you found "Howl" interesting. And the pictures did help. With the question of "Howl" being good or bad, I do agree with you that it is negative but only to a certain extent. Even though the words in the poem are not always the most positive one, I can not help but be left with an uplifting feeling. I feel that even though the content of Ginsberg's work has a negative tone, I feel for him it was positive. The beats lived a life that was the embodiment of their beliefs. I think that is positive for anyone.
ReplyDelete