Allen Ginsberg

American poet
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Also known as: Irwin Allen Ginsberg

Allen Ginsberg, (born June 3, 1926, Newark, New Jersey, U.S.—died April 5, 1997, New York, New York), American poet whose epic poem Howl (1956) is considered to be one of the most significant products of the Beat movement. Ginsberg grew up in Paterson, New Jersey, where his father, Louis Ginsberg, himself a poet, taught English. Allen Ginsberg’s mother, whom he mourned in his long poem Kaddish (1961), was confined for years in a mental hospital. Ginsberg was influenced in his work by the poet William Carlos Williams, particularly toward the use of natural speech rhythms and direct observations of unadorned ...(100 of 434 words)