Week 8

(for Next Week:)

                                                                Allen Ginsberg

To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.
       – Polonius to Laertes in Hamlet

   Howl is a poem by Allen Ginsberg, first published in 1957, and Howl is, also, more recently, a film, directed by Bob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, about the poet and his work.  One of its source inspirations,  (http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174745) "Song of Myself", by Walt Whitman, invites stylisic and thematic comparison as autobiographical free verse poem written in long lines, many including catalog elements, and a narrator intent on laying bare the cultural and natural, physical experience of being human, and of exploring/celebrating the sexual dimension of our lives and the diverse quality of human identity. The poet's uninhibited, challenging voice is central to both, and both draw attention to the importance of authentic self-expression and relationships built on candor and openness. 

 Having you watch the film Howl (starring James Franco in the role of the poet Allen Ginsberg, author of the poem “Howl”) I will be interested in your response to the content of the poem and the film, the poet’s explanations of his work and why he wrote it, and the critical responses expressed during the trial scenes.  If you owe a short response, or want to focus on Howl as a final project:  In your own words, relate what the poem is about, what you thought of Ginsberg’s discussion of the work, and the opinions aired in court on the matter of its obscenity or no, its artistic merit, the advisability of censoring its publication, etcetera (350 words, short response).

Several links posted here may be useful:

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/life_and_art/2010/09/how_howl_changed_the_world.html

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2006/04/the_paradox_of_howl.html

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/movies/2010/09/howl.html

http://www.shmoop.com/howl/section-1-lines-6-10-summary.html

http://www.dhs.fjanosco.net/Documents/HowlOnTrial.pdf
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                                                                  "Icarus"  –by Henri Matisse

"Seated Woman"

We will proceed to readings introduced or reproduced for reading and discussion which we have not yet had time to address, and in advance of next week's Howl.