A good primer to convince readers who have not experienced the work of Ferlinghetti and Ginsberg to give them a try.
Literary archivist Morgan (Beat Atlas: A State by State Guide to the Beat Generation in America, 2011, etc.) collects the correspondence of Ferlinghetti (Blasts Cries Laughter, 2014, etc.) and Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997), beginning with Ginsberg’s first publication Howl and Other Poems (1955).
Limiting his comments to background information, Morgan lets Ginsberg’s personality emerge above and beyond what his poetry reveals. In addition to his work as a leading poet and painter, Ferlinghetti founded City Lights Books in San Francisco, a haven for beat poets and other countercultural writers. Their relationship, during which he published much of Ginsberg’s work, lasted for the next 25 years. The letters are a perfect picture of the San Francisco Renaissance and the rise of the beat poets, with Ginsberg at the top of the heap. Not only was he the best, but Ginsberg also knew everyone and their work. He ceaselessly recommended writers to Ferlinghetti, who tended away from the Buddhist-inspired poets toward the more European-inspired ones. While there is some discussion of editing problems, these letters are much more tuned to both men’s work, the “hip” generation that experimented with drugs and the poetry that was influenced by their use. The big New York publishers often tried to lure Ginsberg away, but Ferlinghetti’s defense of Howl and Other Poems against obscenity charges ensured Ginsberg’s loyalty, as well as their friendship. Ginsberg was not only a poet; he was a world traveler who kept copious journals, many of which were later printed. He was also totally honest about his drug use and noted which works were accomplished under the effect of a specific substance. Having some familiarity with both men’s work is actually unnecessary, as their lives and outlooks come through in this compilation of their correspondence.
A good primer to convince readers who have not experienced the work of Ferlinghetti and Ginsberg to give them a try.Pub Date: June 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-87286-686-7
Page Count: 292
Publisher: City Lights
Review Posted Online: March 31, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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