Howl
This annotated version of Ginsberg's classic is the poet's own re-creation of the revolutionary work's composition process, along with anecdotes and an intimate look at the poet's writing techniques.
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- Just to expand upon the reference, the comment you responded to is the first stanza of Allen Ginsberg poem "Howl" [0] published in 1956, which is what Hammerbacher paraphrased in the quote that I shared. "Howl" is amazing on its own though, and I highly recommend that people read the whole thing and/or watch the 2010 film about Ginsberg's life where James Franco recites it in its entirety[1]. And as a follow-up, I also highly recommend Scott Alexander's "Meditations on Moloch" that takes inspiration from the poem to analyze societal failures of coordination.
[0] https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49303/howl
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1049402/
[2] https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/07/30/meditations-on-moloch/
- This is from Allen Ginsberg's Howl. A must read.
- I think davidro80's comment was too black or white and an attempt to shut down discussion. Those type of comments usually get downvoted on HN. I can admire Ginsberg's "Howl" without approving of his personal life, but I understand some can't get past it.
- There's a great book about it called On The Road.
I can also recommend Ginsberg's Howl, which Kerouac gave its title: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-P2fILsLH8
> I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness
> Starving hysterical naked
- 100% spot on. Kerouac is one of the few authors who need to be read out loud (preferably by someone on speed) to be appreciated the way I assume he wanted it to be.
Not to get too far afield, but I would put Ginsberg on the same list. Howl is a great epic poem, until you hear it screamed out loud over a crowd by someone with an attention disorder. Then it's transcendental.
To get even further removed, if you struggled with the translation of The Canterbury Tales, read the Middle English translation, but read it out loud at 80-120 beats a minute. The words you don't know suddenly become clear, and the entire thing makes sense.
I find it fascinating that some works are seemingly intended to be read out loud and 'performed', but we force people to hear it in their internal voice alone. And then we wonder why folks hate 'classics' of literature or poetry.
- - Gödel, Escher, Bach, Douglas Hofstadter
- Principles, Ray Dalio
- L'Etranger, Albert Camus
- Les Fleurs du Mal, Charles Baudelaire
- The Dao of Capital, Mark Spitznagel
- Howl, Allen Ginsberg
- On the Road, Jack Kerouac
I could go on and on...
