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The first fully illustrated tribute to Allen Ginsberg--the best-known American poet of the post-war generation, mother of the Beats, and walking embodiment of Western counterculture.

Ginsberg's poetry, influenced by the writings of Walt Whitman and the spontaneous prose of his friend Jack Kerouac, is open, forthright, didactic, and written fast without revision. Much of his writing has a raw, confessional quality appropriate to his roles as one of the first gay spokespeople and a leading anti-Vietnam War activist.

From the publication of his first book, Howl and Other Poems, in 1956, Ginsberg became known as the champion of counterculture concerns: sexual freedom, pacifism, drug experimentation, opposition to censorship and authority, and acceptance of Eastern religions. The youngest of the Beat writers, Ginsberg was a lover to both William Burroughs and Kerouac and acted as the prophet and public face of the group--serving as Kerouac's unofficial agent for On the Road and helping Burroughs bring The Naked Lunch to the attention of publishers.

Screaming with Joy, overflowing with more than 150 photographs and illustrations, is a passionate documentary of Ginsberg's zealous life. His untimely death in 1997 silenced a voice that expanded the capacity of our language, and his cultural icon status makes his work and life of even greater interest today. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A. Ginsberg
This isn't an in-depth look at Mr. Ginsberg's life by any means. It's more of a picture book, text dominated by photos, some great photos. That being said, there are several kernals of gold to be mined from the text as well.

screaming with joy: the life of allen ginsberg
Great photographs...but the woman in the picture on page 98 (seated between Ginsberg and Tim Leary) is incorrectly identified as "Mrs. Leary".She is, in fact, Peggy Hitchcock.

Great book...and Pictures too
While this is not the most in depth book on Allen Ginsberg, it is a very good one. Screaming With Joy gives a brief overview of the life of the poet from his birth to his death, focusing primarily on his experiences and thesocial and political environments that made him what he was.If you do notknow much about this incredible man and powerful poet this book is anexcellent starting point; if you are familiar with Ginsberg you willdefinitely want to check out the over one hundred photographs and thequotations and anecdotes from his contemporaries that the book offers. Allin all, I highly recommend this book. ... Read more

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Spanning a decade of Ginsberg's life in letters, essays, and lectures, this book includes journal entries on his encounters with Ezra Pound, transcribed conversations with other poets and artists, and notes from Ginsberg's Spiritual Poetics course entitled "First Thought, Best Thought." ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

Misplaced Emphasis
Regardless of the title, Ginsberg features minorly in this- other poets got more translations in.
And most of this book is a lengthy study of Renga, not haiku or the difficulties of translation (go read "After babel" or "Le Ton De Beau Marot" for real books on that subject.)
And one review got it entirely wrong- Zen has no role in the author's review, he specifically inveighing and excorciating the blind assumption of Zen influence in haikus.

Perfect little book - the same poem never grows stale.
One hundred frogs is a terrific look at just how differently poets can make a work their own.By writing a hundred different versions of "Frog Jumps / Into pond / sound of water" these poets demonstrate the diversity versions of the same poem can yield.

Bring on the "Another Hundred Frogs" sequel - I can't get enough of these!

The sound of silence
"A haiku is the expression of a temporary enlightenment, in which we see into the life of things." (R. H. Blyth)

In this small book, Hiroaki Sato has put together more than 100 translations of the most famous haiku by the Japanese poet Matsuo Basho (1644-94). He has added a ten-page introduction to the work of Matsuo Basho and his most famous poem "Old Pond" which, in one of the most literal translations, reads as follows:

Fu-ru (old) i-ke (pond) ya, ka-wa-zu (frog) to-bi-ko-mu (jumping into) mi-zu (water) no o-to (sound) [transl. Fumiko Saisho]

"One Hundred Frogs" illustrates how many riches can be mined from a single poem, and how much fun it can be to try to capture the essence of a poem in another language. It also teaches a lesson in humility: It is just as impossible to translate poetry unchanged from one language to another as it is impossible to translate anything unchanged from "reality" into language. Ironically, a haiku tries just that. The art of writing haikus is strongly influenced by Zen Buddhism. The mind of a Zen master, it is said, is like a mirror: it reflects reality "as it is" and remains unmoved. A haiku, ideally, reflects reality like a mirror. This is an impossible task, of course. The haiku does not reflect reality, it reflects the poet's interpretation of reality. In this sense, the translations in this book are interpretations of interpretations of reality.

The translators approach the poem "Old Pond" with quite different attitudes. Some take a serious approach and, for example, try to retain the 5-7-5-syllables structure of the haiku: "The old pond, yes, and / A frog is jumping into / The water, and splash." [G.S. Fraser], or "The silent old pond / a mirror of ancient calm, / a frog-leaps-in splash" [Dion O'Donnol]. The latter translation also tries to highlight the tension between silence/calm and sound/movement that is built into the poem. In this context, it is interesting to know that Zen Buddhism does not interpret silence and sound as opposites but as extreme expressions of a unique, indivisible reality - like the north pole and south pole of a magnetized stick: opposites, yet parts of one object. There is no sound without silence. There is no silence without sound. My favorite "serious" translation is the version by Cid Corman, a contemporary American poet: "old pond / frog leaping / splash". After thinking so much about how to translate the poem, this is a refreshingly simple solution. In my opinion, it comes closest to the Zen spirit of the poem. And "splash" appears to be the most reasonable way to solve the question of what is "the water's sound"?

Other translators take a more light-hearted look. Bernard Lionel Einbond translates: "Antic pond - / frantic frog jumps in - / gigantic sound." Antic-frantic-gigantic is a quite amusing caricature of the seriousness of other translations. Then there is a sonnet version and a limerick version. The limerick goes: "There once was a curious frog / who sat by a pond on a log / And to see what resulted, / In the pond catapulted / With a water-noise heard around the bog."

And others again are even more playful. One George M. Young, Jr., contributed what he claimed was a yellowed newspaper clipping from his file: "MAFIA HIT MAN POET: NOTE FOUND PINNED TO LAPEL OF DROWNED VICTIM'S DOUBLE-BREASTED SUIT!!!'Dere wasa dis frogg / Gone jumpa offa da logg / Now he inna bogg.' - Anonymous." It is one of my favorites because of its irreverence for the importance of Zen. An attitude, by the way, that is very much in the spirit of Zen.

The most playful translation of the poem, however, is the one that the reader can compose himself by flipping the pages of the book with his thumb: what emerges is the visual image of an ink-painted frog jumping into a pool. Without a sound. Ironic. Funny. Apt. ... Read more

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Throughout the last year and a half of his life, Allen Ginsberg phoned many of his poet friends to ask if they had any verses of social conscience opposing America's right-wing drift or otherwise expressing their political ideas. The result is this visionary volume, proof that poets are engaged by the idea of a progressive society, even if the politicians are not. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Political rocket for your pocket
Great little book packed full of political poetry which really made me think and was also portable enough to pack in my pocket to take on theroad.... not to mention that it was compiled by my favorite author, AllenGinsberg.A must read for activists and Ginsberg fans alike. ... Read more

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Essays and reviews that trace the changes in Ginsberg's career and in his poetry
... Read more

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FAMILY BUSINESS is not only a personal glimpse into the life of one of the great US poets, but also the moving story of a relationship between a father and a son set against the turbulent world of postwar America. As a literary portrait of a father and son, little can match the eloquence and honesty of this collection of letters, written between the years 1944 and 1976. The illuminating correspondence between Allen Ginsberg and his father, Louis, begins when Allen is a precocious, rebellious college student and charts his ascension as a revolutionary icon in poetry. Their letters are filled with affection, respect, and a healthy dose of argumentative zeal - they debate every major political and artistic issue that faced America in over three decades of extraordinary change. Their correspondence also reveals the defining moments that shaped Allen's art - his experimentation with LSD, his various love affairs and obsessions, his travels around the globe. We see, from this unique perspective, the crucial process of a poet's widening experience of the world, and how these experiences are transformed in his art. ... Read more

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Avant-garde poet and popular culture icon, Allen Ginsberg has been one of the world's most important writers for over 40 years. This comprehensive bibliography, covering the years 1941 to 1994, was prepared with the cooperation of the poet himself. All books, periodicals, photographs, recordings, films, and miscellaneous appearances are listed here. Entries are grouped in chapters according to type of work, and each entry provides full descriptive bibliographic information. ... Read more

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A sourcebook, bibliography, and selection of original essays and photographs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Insightful and Brilliant
Although Dr. Kraus is better known to the world as a software industry insider, this subtle writer leads another life as a scholar and author.

Ginsberg was a complex, mercurial person, part poetic saint, part transgressive deviate. In his own being, he encompasses the existential torsion of the modern American poet.

Dr. Kraus captures these essentials with depth and wit. Although more biographies of Ginsberg are certain to appear,
it is difficult to imagine that any will bring the reader as close to Gisberg, the man and poet. ... Read more

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A member of the "Beat Generation," Allen Ginsberg may well be remembered as the most important poet of the 20th century. As this volume indicates, his works have received increasing amounts of attention, and his influence has been pervasive. This bibliography cites approximately 6,500 critical and biographical studies of Ginsberg's life and work, along with translations of his many writings. Translations are arranged by language and are then categorized by type of publication. Critical and biographical works are listed chronologically, so that the reader may see the response to Ginsberg over time. Extensive indexes allow the reader to find citations for particular titles and authors. ... Read more