Description
Book SynopsisWritten 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 study of Howl elucidates the nexus of politics and literature in which it was written and gives portraits of Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and William Burroughs.
Trade Review“
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 *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Preface: Allen Ginsberg's Genius 1 Poetickall Bomshell 2 Family Business 3 Trilling-esque Sense of "Civilization" 4 Juvinescent Savagery 5 Just like Russia 6 Ladies, We Are Going through Hell 7 Another Coast's Apple for the Eye 8 Mythological References 9 Famous Authorhood 10 This Fiction Named Allen Ginsberg 11 Best Minds Notes and Sources Index
