1. Poetry in Literary History Post Modern: Beat Generation
Howl, Part I – Allen Ginsberg (1956)
I Am Waiting – Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1958)

2. The Poems I Am Waiting Howl, Part I

3. Era: Post-Modern Post-WWII Deconstruction of typical poetry structures
Frequent themes of “taboo” subjects: sexuality, drug use, poverty, criticism of government, etc.
Cold War/McCarthyism, consumerism, Civil Rights Movement, beginning of sexual liberty
Experimentation with new literary techniques and hallucinatory substances

4. The Beat Generation Centered in San Francisco in the 1950s
Deconstruction of typical literary structure (rhyme, rhythm, narrative)
Themes of spirituality, sexuality, anti- materialism, drug use – considered taboo at the time
Inspiration for much of “hippie” culture
Allen Ginsberg: core figure, wrote lots of the definitive poetry for the Beats
Lawrence Ferlinghetti: owner of City Lights Bookstore, publisher of much Beat literature
Taken by Diana Church at the Cafe Trieste in North Beach in 1975.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Minelte Le Blanc, Peter Le Blanc, Allen Ginsberg, Harold Norse, Jack Hirschman & Bob Kaufman.

5. Howl, Part I First presented at the first Six Gallery reading
Target of an obscenity trial in 1957 due to it’s graphic portrayal of homosexuality – judge ruled in favour of the defendant
Heavy themes of drug use/madness, sex, and anti- conformism
Rhythm established by the “who” at the beginning of each line
Experiment in “long line” – each line a single breath unit – representation of the exhaustion described in the poem

6. I Am Waiting
Ferlinghetti was part of the Howl obscenity trial as he published it
Owner of the City Lights Bookstore, so essential to the Beats despite not defining himself as one
Themes of religion, disillusionment, hope
Rhythm established by the “I am waiting” at the beginning of each line
Bob Donlin, Neal Cassady, Allen Ginsberg, Robert LaVinge, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti

7. Importance
Revolutionary era in literature – expansion of what is accepted, what can be explored, what we can talk about
The Beats celebrated liberty, freedom – where would we be without them?
The search for truth, visceral reactions, and the return of emotion to society
The bottom line: literature is meant to make you feel something, and postmodern writers accomplished this. Indulge in their work.