Howl

E63176

"Howl" is a landmark 1956 poem by Allen Ginsberg that became one of the defining works of the Beat Generation, known for its raw, free-verse critique of postwar American society and its central role in an obscenity trial that expanded literary freedom.

All labels observed (4)

Label Occurrences
Howl canonical 14
Howl and Other Poems 6
"Howl" 2

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf literary work
poem
associatedWith Allen Ginsberg
Beat Generation writers
Jack Kerouac
William S. Burroughs
author Allen Ginsberg
centralTheme alienation in modern industrial society
critique of capitalism and conformity
madness and sanity
sexual freedom
spiritual quest
containsCharacter Moloch (symbolic figure)
linked to: Moloch
countryOfOrigin United States
culturalStatus defining text of the Beat Generation
landmark work of American literature
dedicatedTo Carl Solomon
editor Lawrence Ferlinghetti
firstLine I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness
firstPublicReadingPlace Six Gallery, San Francisco
firstPublicReadingYear 1955
firstPublishedIn Howl and Other Poems
linked to: Howl
form free verse
genre poetry
influenced counterculture of the 1960s
subsequent confessional and performance poetry
influencedBy Buddhism
Walt Whitman
William Blake
jazz improvisation
language English
legalCaseResult ruled not obscene
legalImpact expanded protection for literary free expression in the United States
literaryMovement Beat Generation
meter long-breath lines influenced by jazz rhythms
notableFor critique of postwar American society
landmark obscenity trial in the United States
use of frank sexual and drug-related language
placeOfFirstPublication San Francisco
publicationYear 1956
publisher City Lights Books
section Footnote to Howl
linked to: Howl

Part I
Part II
Part III
setting post–World War II America
structure three main sections and a footnote
subjectOf Howl obscenity trial

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (23)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

City Lights Bookstore notablePublication Howl and Other Poems
linked to: Howl
Howl firstPublishedIn Howl and Other Poems
linked to: Howl
Howl section Footnote to Howl
linked to: Howl
Kaddish relatedWork Howl
City Lights Publishers publishedWork Howl and Other Poems
linked to: Howl
City Lights Publishers notablePublication Howl and Other Poems
linked to: Howl
Handwritten hasTrack Howl
Sunflower Sutra firstPublishedIn Howl and Other Poems
linked to: Howl
Howl obscenity trial hasDefendantWork Howl
subject linked to: "Howl" obscenity trial
Howl obscenity trial concernsWork Howl and Other Poems
subject linked to: "Howl" obscenity trial
linked to: Howl
Part II (section of "Howl") partOf "Howl"
subject linked to: Part II
linked to: Howl
Allen Ginsberg notableWork Howl
subject linked to: Orlovsky
Lungs hasPart Howl
Aftertaste hasPart Howl