Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and leading figure of the Beat Generation. He was born into the left-oriented family of an American high school teacher and a Russian Jewish immigrant. He studied at Columbia University, however he was expelled from the University for repeated theft and drug use. Ginsberg came into public attention in 1956 with the publication of “Howl and other poems”, a collection of poems which was declared by the San Francisco Police Department obscene because of the graphic sexual language. As a consequence, its publisher, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, was arrested. The highly publicized ensuing trial attracted national attention and Ginsberg’s poem “Howl” achieved international fame. Ginsberg, known for his non-conformist life, sympathized with the hippie movement, championed gay rights and the anti-war movement. He was interested in Zen-Buddhism and travelled to many countries. In 1974 he co-founded the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics of the Naropa Institute.
Blažek, Petr. 2011. “Vyhoštění krále Majálesu. Allen Ginsberg a Státní bezpečnost.” Paměť a dějiny. Revue pro studium totalitních režimů 5, No. 2: 28–43.
