Books

San Francisco: The City Lights Pocket Bookshop, 1956. First edition. Very good plus.. Rare signed first edition of HOWL, inscribed in the year of publication, likely at one of Ginsberg's most infamous readings. The most likely opportunities for Ginsberg to sign copies of HOWL in 1956 were few and far between. First, the book was published late in the year. While Ferlinghetti sent Ginsberg "a few advance copies" in August of that year (Morgan, I GREET YOU, 5), and a small number of copies inscribed in September are known (the Sept. 17th issue of PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY lists the official publication date as Sept. 1st), HOWL seems to have only really begun to be distributed in October. Again, according to PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, "[t]he first edition passed through U.S. Customs in October, 1956" (April 29th 1957). In addition, both Gary Snyder and Louis Ginsberg report receiving copies they had ordered at the start of that month, likely from the earliest copies received at City Lights.…

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.