Howl and Other Poems: ALLEN GINSBERG.

• Author: Harrigan, Fiona

When Allen Ginsberg first presented his poem "Howl" at an October 1955 reading in San Francisco, Beat poet Michael McClure said that "a human voice and body had been hurled against the harsh wall of America."

Ginsberg's poem--112 lines describing drug use, homosexuality, materialism, shifting political tectonics, and rebellion against conformity--caught the attention of publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Ferlinghetti's City Lights Bookstore published Howl and Other Poems in 1956, quickly attracting both celebration and controversy.

On March 25, 1957, the collector of customs at the port of San Francisco seized 520 copies of Howl and Other Poems that had been shipped from a printer in England, accusing the title poem of obscenity. Ferlinghetti began printing Howl and Other Poems domestically to avoid scuffles with Customs. Then two undercover cops bought a copy from City Lights manager Shig Murao. Murao was arrested, and the San Francisco Police Department issued a warrant for Ferlinghetti.

Ferlinghetti was charged with distributing obscene materials. A landmark free speech battle ensued that year in People of the State of California v. Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The prosecution was tasked with proving that Howl and Other Poems was obscene and "that the defendants wilfully and lewdly committed the crime alleged."

"Unless the book is entirely lacking in 'social importance,'" wrote Judge Clayton W. Horn, "it cannot be held obscene." Based on the testimony of literary experts and their assessment that Howl and...