From Publishers Weekly
This volume behind the clunky title and unkindly high price presents some of the most astonishing correspondence in American literature. Throughout his adult life, poet and cultural icon Allen Ginsberg exchanged regular letters with his father, Louis, himself a moderately successful lyric poet. They conversed freely about politics, philosophy and poetry (the book offers fascinating insights into the Ginsberg masterpieces Kaddish and Howl); they fought fiercely but without bitterness over Communism, the Arab-Israeli conflict and Vietnam. If such father-son arguments were typical of their era, few can have been so colorfully and affectionately expressed. Allen's letters (he addresses his father as "Louis" and ribs him for his "Polonious[sic]-like tirades") are marked by the vivid, freeform, punctuationless imagery of the beats. Those of his father, surprisingly the more deft correspondent, are wry and campily pedantic: he describes avant-garde poetry as "yawns ticked out in deranged verbiage" and delights in outlandish wordplay ("the hippies want pot in every chicken"). The letters themselves are sensitively edited, Schumacher (author of Dharma Lion, a well-received biography of Ginsberg) supplying biographical context where needed and including a few judiciously chosen interviews and articles. In the end, for all their virtuosity, the Ginsbergs' literary talent emerges as the lesser gift in comparison to their honesty and mutual affection. Anyone interested in either Ginsberg, the beats, American poetry or the '60s should not miss this ferociously tender and comical collection. (Sept.)Forecast; With widespread, favorable reviews, this should have peak sales early on and settle in for a nice steady flow.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Like many fathers and sons, Louis and Allen Ginsberg had their differences, but they were united by their affection for each other and their love of poetry. In this judicious selection of letters written between 1944 and 1976, Schumacher (Dharma Lion: A Critical Biography of Allen Ginsberg) does a fine job of charting the course of their relationship. Many of Allen's letters describe his travels, while Louis's are often a blend of family news and fatherly advice. Poetry and politics are frequently discussed, with the nature of communism, the Vietnam War, and Israeli-Arab relations also coming in for hot debate. Angry arguments aside, however, their correspondence demonstrates a mutual respect, a strong desire for reconciliation, and pride in each other's poetic accomplishments. In addition to the letters, Schumacher reprints My Son the Poet, an article Louis wrote for the Chicago Sun Times Book World. A postscript contains several of Allen's poems to his father. Highly recommended. William Gargan, Brooklyn Coll. Lib., CUNY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
