Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg is an unforgettable book of poetry. This book of poems was published at the rise of the beat poetry movement. It gained national attention when Richard Eberhart described "Howl" as "the most remarkable poem of the young group" of poets in the beat generation. Inside the petite, intimate book "filled with sincerity and lyrically intense lines" is one of the most renowned poems the world has ever read. One of the major poets of the beat poetry movement, Allen Ginsberg brilliantly created his own form of beat poetry with the poem "Howl."

Part one of this three-section poem is about what Ginsberg called "the best minds of my generation"—poets, artists, jazz musicians, and political radicals. Part two is about Ginsberg's view on industrial civilization. Lastly, part three is addressed to Carl Solomon, a writer he met at the Columbia Presbyterian Psychiatric Institute. This book inspired me to read the work of other beat writers and explore that time period in literary history.

Review by: Sophie

Sophie is a teen volunteer and member of the Teen Council at the West Los Angeles Branch Library. She is a 10th grader at Santa Monica High School.

—Carrie Davies, Young Adult Librarian, West Los Angeles Branch Library