The best of poet Allen Ginsberg’s correspondence with friends like Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs, edited by the author’s longtime literary archivist.

Allen Ginsberg (1926–1997) was one of twentieth-century literature’s most prolific letter-writers. This definitive volume showcases his correspondence with some of the most original and interesting artists of his time, including Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, Gregory Corso, Neal Cassady, Lionel Trilling, Charles Olson, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Philip Whalen, Peter Orlovsky, Philip Glass, Arthur Miller, Ken Kesey, and hundreds of others.

Through his letter writing, Ginsberg coordinated the efforts of his literary circle and kept everyone informed about what everyone else was doing. He also preached the gospel of the Beat movement by addressing political and social issues in countless letters to publishers, editors, and the news media, devising an entirely new way to educate readers and disseminate information. Drawing from numerous sources, this collection is both a riveting life in letters and an intimate guide to understanding an entire creative generation.

Augusta Metro Spirit, 6/25/08
“A stunning display of the mind at work…A talented editor with firsthand knowledge of the subject, Morgan is able to craft a fascinating journey through the mind of one of the world’s best poetical voices…Crafted with supreme care, organized under a chronological format, and placed together in a series of thrusts from the mind of a master thinker now gone, this collection of letters serves as a collective howl into the cognitive recesses within the open-minded free thinkers of today.”

Bay Area Reporter, 6/26/08
“Reading [it]…is like nibbling at a continual banquet of small, tasty plates.”

Library Journal, 9/01/08
“Always intelligent, sometimes gossipy, and occasionally cranky and impatient, Ginsberg is accurately reflected in these letters taken together…On the whole, [Morgan’s] quest to compile ‘a greatest hits album’ of Ginsberg’s correspondence succeeds admirably. Highly recommended for all literature collections.”

Q Syndicate, 8/25/08
“[A] mouth-watering sampling of correspondence across six decades…Rich and revealing...Stamp this meticulously edited collection of letters ‘transcendent.’” It was also the column’s “featured excerpt.”

The Advocate, 9/9/08
“The Beat poet comes alive in his first letter to the editor of The New York Times at age 15, the desperate breakup note to writer Neal Cassady, and throughout his lifelong engagement with politics, literature, and famous friends.”

Beat Scene, 9/08
“Ginsberg was the central information centre for the Beat Generation and that is so evident from these letters…A major collection…Any self respecting observer of the Beat Generation should have this book.”

Curve
“Worshippers of Howl and the Beat Generation will revel in this impressive collection of correspondence between Ginsberg and myriad other luminaries…The letters…are extraordinary in their quality, in their content, and in their revelations about his personal and poetic desires, his struggles and success.”

Washington Blade, 8/22/08
“A historical epistolary novel…A guide to the Beat generation.”  

New York Post, 9/14/08
“Full of wonderful tidbits about Ginsberg.” 

San Francisco Chronicle, 9/20/08
“This wonderfully rich collection of 165 letters from the 1940s until the poet's death in 1997, put together by his longtime archivist, Bill Morgan, gives us a firsthand view of the man behind the poems, someone of whom it can be truly said that the personal was political…This remarkable collection by someone who perhaps invented the concept of ‘oversharing’ long before it became fashionable, reminds us of why he mattered then, and still does now.”
 

Details, October 2008
“Morgan has catalogued 165 of the poet-activist’s letters to people you’d expect and some you wouldn’t.” 
 

USA Today’s Pop Candy, 9/26/08
“Good stuff!” 
 

Bookviews.com, 10/08
“Will surely interest anyone who read [Ginsberg’s] work.”
 

Electric Review, September/October 2008
“The art of Ginsberg’s letters is captured in stunning form…Indispensable to all serious students of literature…A book that embraces the wonders of communication, each selection reveling in the sheer excitement of the connection…Followers of the Beat Generation will find countless hours of enjoyment here.”

Reference & Research Book News, November 2008
“From topics as personal as a recommendation of medicine for dysentery to Kerouac, to his excitement at discovering the painter Francis Bacon, to frank comments on his own work and that of others, the letters are captivating. Through them we see not only into the mind of a seminal poet but also into the society that shaped him.”

In 1956, Allen Ginsberg published “Howl,” one of the most widely read and translated poems of the twentieth century. Ginsberg was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and cofounder of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa Institute.

Bill Morgan, Allen Ginsberg’s literary archivist for many years, is the author of a biography of Ginsberg and editor of The Book of Martyrdom and Artifice, Ginsberg’s early journals. He lives in New York City.

Imprint: Da Capo Press
Distributor: Perseus Books Group
Publication Date: 09-08-2008
Pages: 432
Measurements: 9.25in X 6.13in