GINSBERG, Allen (1926-1997)

[Vinyl Record] [John Ciardi's Copy] [Beats] Allen Ginsberg Reads Howl and Other Poems; [together with] Howl and Other Poems [No. 4 in the Pocket Poets Series]

n.p. / San Francisco: Fantasy / City Lights Bookshop, 1959 / n.d. First Edition. First Pressing of this 33 1/3 rpm (12-inch) LP phonograph record (numbered 7006 on sleeve and vinyl), on which the poet recites (screams, begs, urges) "Howl" and other poems. Transparent red vinyl (not the later, more common black vinyl) with burgundy labels, plain paper slip, and original card sleeve printed in green, orange, and black. Stamped in red: "Promotional Copy / Not for Sale" on rear of sleeve, with ownership of poet John Ciardi faintly stamped on upper right corner of front and neat blue ball-point notes to rear, probably in Ciardi’s hand, commenting on the readings (Ginsberg recites "Howl," "The Sunflower Sutra," "Footnote to Howl," "A Supermarket in California," "Transcription of Organ Music," "America," "In the Back of the Real," "Strange New Cottage in Berkeley," "Europe! Europe!," and "Kaddish."). Long printed introduction by Ginsberg on rear sleeve. Offered with Third Printing (so stated on rear cover and priced 75 cents) of the First City Lights Edition of Howl and Other Poems, dedicated to Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs, and Neal Cassady and introduced by William Carlos Williams. Foolscap 8vo (157 x 121mm): 44pp. Black and white stapled card covers, inside covers blank, without separate white paper wraparound label of first two printings (now incorporated into cover design). LP's paper slip wrinkled but intact without tears, card sleeve lightly toned else about Fine. Book about Fine, pages slightly toned but clean throughout. Cook 4. Morgan F2a and A3. Fine- / Fine-. Item #BB2395

In October, 1956, with publication of Howl and Other Poems in an edition of 1000 copies by Lawrence Ferlinghetti's City Lights Bookshop, came fame and notoriety. Ferlinghetti was charged with disseminating obscene literature and arrested, but Judge Clayton W. Horn ruled that "Howl" was not obscene, and the collection ultimately was translated into twenty-eight languages. “Howl” became as famous "as any American poem since Eliot’s "The Waste Land" and is still an icon of the Beat generation as powerful as Kerouac’s On The Road . . . It is meant to be recited, and in his recitations Ginsberg was filled with gusto; he gesticulated and screamed, begged, urged and took off his clothes. . . . He was a lyric genius who, along with William Carlos Williams, was one of the greatest influences on the American poetical voice since Walt Whitman." (Literary Encyclopedia) N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).

Price: $851.00