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Kaddish and Other Poems: 1958-1960
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Kaddish and Other Poems: 1958-1960 Paperback - 2010

by Allen Ginsberg; Afterword by Bill Morgan

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Reader reviews for Kaddish and Other Poems: 1958-1960

From the publisher

"As a pandemic rages and we are unable to gather to celebrate our dead, make our minyans, or hold one another's hands, have our seders, I think of Ginsberg writing Kaddish for his mother. I think of him imagining a journey from bondage to freedom. . . . Kaddish is the perfect poem for these times."--Laurel Brett, The Forward

Allen Ginsberg's "Kaddish," a poem about the death of his mother, Naomi, is one of his major works. This special fiftieth anniversary edition of Kaddish and Other Poems features an illuminating afterword by Ginsberg biographer Bill Morgan, along with previously unpublished photographs, documents, and letters relating to the composition of the poem.

Allen Ginsberg, founding father of the Beat Generation, inspired the American counterculture of the second half of the twentieth century with his groundbreaking poems.

Bill Morgan is the author of I Celebrate Myself: The Somewhat Private Life of Allen Ginsberg. He lives in New York City and Bennington, Vermont.

"In the midst of the broken consciousness of mid-twentieth century suffering anguish of separation from my own body and its natural infinity of feeling its own self one with all self, I instinctively seeking to reconstitute that blissful union which I experience so rarely. I took it to be supernatural and gave it holy Name thus made hymn laments of longing and litanies of triumphancy of Self over mind-illusion mechano-universe of un-feeling Time in which I saw my self my own mother and my very nation trapped desolate our worlds of consciousness homeless and at war except for the original trembling of bliss in breast and belly of every body that nakedness rejected in suits of fear that familiar defenseless living hurt self which is myself same as all others abandoned scared to own unchanging desire for each other."--Allen Ginsberg from Kaddish

"Kaddish, Ginsberg's ode to his mother after her death, is streaked with references to Judaism and to the funerary prayer recited by a male mourner for the passing of a parent or relative. Like the prayer, Ginsberg's poem is a celebration of his mother, but it also delves into--and, indeed, dwells on--the darker side of her life. . . . Ginsberg bears witness to his mother's pain and struggles; he intones her name--another act of remembrance--over and over again as if to deify her."--Maria Eliades, Ploughshares

"Kaddish, Allen Ginsberg's most stunning and emotional poem, tells a story that is entirely true. As a young boy growing up in Paterson, New Jersey, Allen watched his mother succumb to a series of psychotic episodes that grew progressively worse despite desperate attempts at treatment."--Levi Asher, Literary Kicks

Kaddish, which Ginsberg wrote between 1957 and 1959 and published in 1961, is, at its core, a poem about a son learning to grieve for his mother. But Ginsberg's emotional and intellectual rawness make this poem an investigation about what it means to grieve, or even to be a son or mother. A deeply intimate portrait of his family's life, Kaddish nonetheless embeds itself in specific historical contexts: of Jewish life in the United States and after the Holocaust, of left-wing political activism before and during the Cold War, of a fiercely independent woman who died as second-wave feminism was only just beginning to be formulated."--Joshua Logan Wall, The Yiddish Book Center's "Great Jewish Books, Teacher Resources"

"Ginsberg's long, graphic, lamenting elegy for his mother is one of the most shattering poems written in this century. Harrowing. Grotesque. Hilarious. Non-stop in its verbal energy....I love these little City Lights collections--they're certainly more fun than the big Collected Poems (Harper), easier to carry, easier to hold, and easier to read."--Lloyd Schwartz, Grolier Poetry Book Shop

Details

  • Title Kaddish and Other Poems: 1958-1960
  • Author Allen Ginsberg; Afterword by Bill Morgan
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition 50 ANV
  • Pages 128
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher City Lights Books, San Francisco
  • Publication date 2010-11-23
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Illustrated, Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780872865112 / 0872865118
  • Weight 0.25 lbs (0.11 kg)
  • Dimensions 6.1 x 4.9 x 0.5 in (15.49 x 12.45 x 1.27 cm)
  • Themes
    • Ethnic Orientation: Jewish
    • Topical: Death/Dying
    • Topical: Lgbt
  • Category Poetry
  • Library of Congress subjects American poetry - 20th century
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 2010038347
  • Dewey Decimal Code 811.54

About the author

Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997), founding father of the Beat Generation, inspired the American counterculture of the second half of the twentieth century with his grounbreaking poems. His books include Howl & Other Poems, Kaddish & Other Poems, Reality Sandwiches, Planet News, Fall of America, Mind Breaths, and Plutonian Ode, all published by City Lights.

Bill Morgan (b.1949) is a painter and archival consultant who lives in New York City and Bennington, Vermont. He is the author of The Beat Generation in New York and The Beat Generation in San Francisco, I Celebrate Myself: The Somewhat Private Life of Allen Ginsberg, and edited Deliberate Prose: Selected Essays of Allen Ginsberg, 1952-1995, as well as Ginsberg's The Book of Martyrdom and Artifice: First Journals and Poems, 1937-1952, and Howl on Trial: The Battle for Free Expression.

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Kaddish and Other Poems, 1958-1960

Kaddish and Other Poems, 1958-1960

by Allen Ginsberg

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City Lights Books, 2010. Paperback. Good. Disclaimer:A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact. The spine may show signs of wear. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include previous owner inscriptions. At ThriftBooks, our motto is: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
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Kaddish and Other Poems : 50th Anniversary Edition
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Kaddish and Other Poems : 50th Anniversary Edition

by Ginsberg, Allen

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Kaddish and Other Poems, 1958-1960 (The Pocket Poets Series, Number Fourteen [14])

Kaddish and Other Poems, 1958-1960 (The Pocket Poets Series, Number Fourteen [14])

by Ginsberg, Allen; Morgan, Bill

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San Francisco: City Lights Books, 2010. 50th Anniversary Edition. Trade Paperback. Near Fine. 5x0x6. Two pages dog-eared, otherwise an excellent copy. 2010 Trade Paperback. 130 pp. 50th anniversary edition with new foreword by Bill Morgan. From Ginsberg's statement on the rear wrapper: "In the midst of the broken consciousness of mid-twentieth century suffering anguish of separation from my own body and its natural infinity of feeling its own self one with all self, I instinctively seeking to reconstitute that blissful union which I experience so rarely. I took it to be supernatural an gave it holy Name thus made hymn laments of longing and litanies of triumphancy of Self over mind-illusion mechano-universe of un-feeling Time in which I saw my self my own mother and my very nation trapped desolate our worlds of consciousness homeless and at war except for the original trembling of bliss in breast and belly of every body that nakedness rejected in suits of fear that familiar defenseless… Read more
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Kaddish and Other Poems: 50th Anniversary Edition (Pocket Poets)
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Kaddish and Other Poems: 50th Anniversary Edition (Pocket Poets)

by Allen Ginsberg

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San Francisco: City Lights Publishers, 2010. Book. Very Good. Soft cover. 12mo - over 6¾ - 7¾" tall. ery light shelf and edge wear to covers. Outside corners very lightly bumped. Afterword by Bill Morgan.
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Kaddish and Other Poems: 50th Anniversary Edition (Pocket Poets)
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Kaddish and Other Poems: 50th Anniversary Edition (Pocket Poets)

by Allen Ginsberg

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Kaddish and Other Poems: 50th Anniversary Edition (The Pocket Series, 14)
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Kaddish and Other Poems: 50th Anniversary Edition (The Pocket Series, 14)

by Ginsberg, Allen

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City Lights Publishers, 2010-11-23. NONE, 50th Anniversary. paperback. Used: Good. 5.00x0.25x6.25. Buy with confidence. Excellent Customer Service & Return policy.
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Kaddish and Other Poems: 50th Anniversary Edition (The Pocket Series)
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Kaddish and Other Poems: 50th Anniversary Edition (The Pocket Series)

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KADDISH & OTHER POEMS 50TH ANNIVERSARY E
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KADDISH & OTHER POEMS 50TH ANNIVERSARY E

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Kaddish and Other Poems: 50th Anniversary Edition (The Pocket Series, 14)
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Kaddish and Other Poems: 50th Anniversary Edition (The Pocket Series, 14)

by Ginsberg, Allen

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Kaddish and other Poems
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Kaddish and other Poems

by Allen Ginsberg

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