Original artwork, not a still
Howl ‧ 1956
I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The opening is a roll call of a generation's casualties and a challenge to the polite postwar America that ignored them. After the trial it became a standard-bearer for free speech in print, and 'the best minds of my generation' is now used for any wasted talent, often by people who have not read the next line.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for HowlShow the scene
It is the first line of 'Howl', which Allen Ginsberg began in autumn 1954 and first performed at the Six Gallery reading in San Francisco on 7 October 1955. Lawrence Ferlinghetti of City Lights published it in 1956. Ferlinghetti and the shop's manager were arrested on obscenity charges, and on 3 October 1957 Judge Clayton Horn ruled the poem was not obscene. The poem is dedicated to Carl Solomon.
Sources (1)
- Howl (poem) (Wikipedia)whole pageReference checked
Context reviewed