Ginsberg, Allen (Introdcution by William Carlos Williams). Howl and Other Poems. City Lights Publishers, San Francisco, CA, 1980.

Price: US$10.00 + shipping

Condition: Very Good

Description: This is a small format paperback book. The book is in Very Good+ condition and was issued without a dust jacket. The book covers have some light rubbing and wear to the spine ends and corners. The text pages are clean and bright. "Best known for his poem "Howl", Ginsberg denounced what he saw as the destructive forces of capitalism and conformity in the United States. San Francisco police and US Customs seized copies of "Howl" in 1956, and a subsequent obscenity trial in 1957 attracted widespread publicity due to the poem's language and descriptions of heterosexual and homosexual sex at a time when sodomy laws made (male) homosexual acts a crime in every state. The poem reflected Ginsberg's own sexuality and his relationships with a number of men, including Peter Orlovsky, his lifelong partner. Judge Clayton W. Horn ruled that "Howl" was not obscene, asking: "Would there be any freedom of press or speech if one must reduce his vocabulary to vapid innocuous euphemisms?" "(from Wikipedia)

Seller: S. Howlett-West Books (Member ABAA), Modesto, CA, U.S.A.