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I have been enjoying dipping into this collection of poetry and other writings by Allen Ginsberg. It was kindly sent to me by Penguin. To be honest, I am not too familiar with Ginsberg and his contemporaries, known collectively as the beat poets. In my early twenties I discovered Lawrence Ferlinghetti, whose work I loved, but Ginsberg somehow passed me by, so this collection is a real treat.
Much of it is visceral, and hard-hitting. It’s an interesting experience, reading poetry from a different time, place and generation. There are references to people I’ve never heard of, so I keep getting sidetracked by looking them up, and then sometimes that has led me down a different path entirely — a deeply rewarding experience, if one that is not conducive to consuming a book quickly!
I especially liked one of the vignettes under the heading Don’t Grow Old, and the poem Why I Meditate and the rhythm and the meditative effect created by the use of anaphora in the form of “I sit” at the beginning of every line.
On the subject of rhythm, the poems benefit from being read aloud, even if only to yourself.
It’s a little disappointing that there is no Introduction, but at least there is a fairly detailed Notes section.The book is a great collection for those who are already familiar with Ginsberg, and a wonderful introduction to those, like me, who are not. The book is published on 30th July 2026.
