Photo: Hans van Dijk for Anefo / CC0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Reading Howl for the first time felt like having a window kicked open. Ginsberg stood at the dead center of the Beat Generation and wrote as if politeness were a cage to be torn apart. What grips me is the rawness; he didn't polish his lines into ornaments, he hurled lived experience onto the page. Even after winning the National Book Award, he never traded in his outsider stance, and that consistency is its own kind of bravery. He taught me that poetry can be a weapon rather than decoration. Decades on, his work hasn't lost an ounce of its charge.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Allen Ginsberg
- Name (Japanese)
- アレン・ギンズバーグ
- Reading
- あれん・ぎんずばーぐ
- Born
- June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Gemini / Tiger
- Origin
- Paterson, New Jersey, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- playwright / poet / writer / autobiographer / screenwriter
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Eastside High School
- University
- Montclair State University
Awards & achievements
- Guggenheim Fellowship
- 1974 National Book Award
- War Resisters League Peace Award
- 1974 National Book Award for Poetry
- 1986 Robert Frost Medal
- 1986 Golden Wreath
- 1993 John Jay Award
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Howl | — | |
| Notable work | Kaddish | — | |
| Notable work | The Fall of America: Poems of These States | — |
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Allen Ginsberg born?
June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997.
Where is Allen Ginsberg from?
Allen Ginsberg is from Paterson, New Jersey, United States.
What does Allen Ginsberg do?
Allen Ginsberg works as playwright, poet, writer, autobiographer, screenwriter.
What is Allen Ginsberg known for?
Notable works include Howl, Kaddish, The Fall of America: Poems of These States.
Playwright — see all → · Poet — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-16
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.