Ginsberg Howl

Howling for Creative Freedom

A howl is the sound of a dog or wolf’s cry and Allen Ginsberg’s poem “Howl” is a long cry for creative liberties. The poem refers to various institutions that contributed to the suppression of artistic liberties, including the government, capitalist institutions, and universities. These institutions deemed the mentally ill, alcoholics and drug addicts, homosexuals, and anyone else who did not conform to their social and political values as insane, causing the rest of society to also reject them. Allen Ginsberg, on the other hand, believed that these individuals actually consisted of some of the most creative and “best minds.” Though society’s political and social institutions tried to hinder the artistic expressions

If Ginsberg experimented with drugs I would also assume that many of his friends and people he associated were avid drug users. Line 9 reads, “who got busted in their pubic beards returning through Laredo with a belt of marijuana for New York.” Hipster was a term used to describe individuals who were interested in jazz and engaged in drug use. Many of these hipsters were easily recognizable by their long beards, compared to the clean, shaven appearance that was considered acceptable in their society. Ginsberg continues to write, “Peyote solidities of halls, backyard green tree cemetery dawns, wine drunkenness over the rooftops, storefront boroughs of teahead joyride neon blinking traffic light, sun and moon and tree vibrations in the roaring winter dusks of Brooklyn” (13). This line elaborates the extent of his drug use; that he has gotten high anywhere anyone can imagine, such as in a cemetery, on a roof, while driving, and in Brooklyn. And “sun and moon” could intend that he and the other Beats got high at any hour of the day, regardless whether daytime or nighttime. Just like excessive drinking causes one to get drunk and lose cognitive ability, drug use almost always results in the individual getting high. Depending on the severity of this high, one could experience bizarre and unexplainable hallucinations. Perhaps these trips and hallucinations are what inspired these writers’ creativity. And though drug use is not a societal norm, from Ginsberg’s point of view, drugs actually help to stimulate the best