Books

Berkeley: Pacific Tape Library, 1956. First edition. Record LP. Very Good. A rare reel-to-reel tape in original labeled box containing Ginsberg reading his poetry including his best known poem, HOWL. Per our research, the first historic reading of Howl took place at the historic 1955 reading at San Francisco's SIX GALLERY for which no known recordings exist. The second reading was a February 1956 reading at Reed College in Portland (of which one known copy exists in the college's institutional holdings); and then this third known public reading was done on October 25, 1956 and is offered here in the original reel-to-reel format and labeled box. It has become almost cliche to talk about the beats and their influence on the greater literary and cultural zeitgeist, but it is no stretch of the imagination to cite Howl as one of the most iconic poems of the 20th century and any early recording of his reading of it must be viewed with more than a little reverence. We have not played the…

Howl and Other Poems is a collection of poetry by Allen Ginsberg published in 1956. It contains Ginsberg's most famous poem, 'Howl', which is considered to be one of the principal works of the Beat Generation along with other notable poems.

The first edition of 'Howl and Other Poems' can be identified by its original publisher, City Lights Books, with a black and white cover featuring an abstract drawing. The Pocket Poets Series number should be mentioned on the back. It should state that it is part of the first printing along with 'the City Lights Pocket Poets Series' on the spine.