Allen Ginsberg

Allen Ginsberg (1926–1997) was an American poet and a central figure of the Beat Generation. Born in Newark, New Jersey, he studied at Columbia University, where he met writers who helped shape the Beat circle. His most famous work, “Howl” (first performed in 1955 and published in 1956), became a landmark of postwar American poetry and the subject of a 1957 obscenity trial that ended in its favor. Ginsberg’s other major books include *Kaddish and Other Poems* and *The Fall of America*. He also taught, traveled widely, and was active in antiwar and free-speech causes.