Ginsberg's America in Time

In Allen Ginsberg's "America," written in January of 1956, the author admits "I am obsessed with Time Magazine. I read it every week" (Ginsberg 46-47). For this reason I have chosen issue number 24 of volume LXVI of Time, published December 12, 1955, to illustrate Ginsberg's influences by the current national and world events of his time. The cover of this issue depicts the jolly St. Nick behind the beaming bald head of toymaker Louis Marx. This joyous illustration projects how the media sought to spread happiness and Christmas cheer despite national woes such as nuclear arms threats and the country's slow movement toward national desegregation. Ginsberg's dramatic monologue, "America," demonstrates his emotions tied to the Cold War and the Civil Rights Movements which were occurring in the 1950s. In this essay I will examine how Allen Ginsberg's concerns with national policies presented in the poem "America" reflect national concerns as seen in three articles from this edition of Time Magazine including "RACES: Armageddon to Go," "COMMUNISTS: Bhai Bhai in India," and "Science: Radioactivity from Russia."

Ginsberg states of America in this famous poem that "Him make Indians learn read. Him need big black niggers. Hah" (Ginsberg 93-94). These feelings were clearly influenced by the beginning of the civil rights movement and the progress toward national desegregation occurring in 1955 and 1956. By using poor grammar, Ginsberg is satirizing these vicious stereotypes and projecting his opinion that those who use them are ignorant and uneducated. His disappointment with the lack of national segregation, as well as his disappointment with the United States' involvement in the Cold War, can be seen in his powerful question "Ame...

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...lea for peace than a statement of fact. It is a desperate attempt to make America realize its hypocrisy and recede involvement in the Cold War and the use of nuclear weapons, the harmful effects of which are recorded in "Science: Radioactivity from Russia".

While college students rioted through the streets of Atlanta, Allen Ginsberg protested American policies in a more peaceful manner: through his poetry. Through his literary works he felt most comfortable expressing his disagreements with national policies such as segregation and the use of nuclear weapons. He recognized the media's hypocrisy and bias in its portrayal of current events, such as the articles printed in the December edition of Time Magazine, and sought to refute them in his own publishings. It is with this boldness of voice that Ginsberg may be classified as a true beatnik American poet.