I’ve written some research work on Ginsberg, and while I find Howl to be a really incredible poem
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I just tried to read(and failed to finish) Howl. Without success. Way too much buggery. A normal person just doesn’t want that sh-t going through his head.
That was the finisher.
Howl starts out with a pretty crip open but then it becomes wordy. Ginsburg chants but the words don’t mean anything. its just noise and ginsburg enjoying the sound of his own voice. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
Yeah, it does sound like a bunch of crappy spoken word but without getting too technical the whole poem is religious:
The first section mimics the Lotus Sutra
The second mimics the Old Testament
The third the Koran.
It’s a very deep poem - believe it or not - and I thought it was pretty shallow until I put a lot of research into it. It’s almost like a 50’s “Wasteland.” It’s also very reminiscent of Yeats’ “Sailing to Byzantium”
If you want the Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, try Gary Snyder, lol.