Howl and other poems by GINSBERG, Allen - 1958

1958. San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1958. 12mo.; original black and white printed wraps, pp.44. Slightly worn along the spine, text fine. First edition, sixth printing. Signed bookplate of Ruth Gordon and her husband, the director Garson Kanin, inside front cover. Early issue of the quintessential poetry collection from this noted Beat author, with introduction by William Carlos Williams. 'Howl' is one of the principle works of the Beat generation, but it was not without its controversy. For publishing the collection Lawrence Ferlinghetti, a beat poet in his own right, was arrested and charged with obscenity. After a very public trial Ferlinghetti was released, and another 5,000 copies were published to cope with the public demanded generated from the arrest. Gordon was well known for her performances in Rosemary's Baby and the Clint Eastwood films Every Which Way but Loose . She won an academy award, an Emmy, and two Golden Globe awards, as well as three Academy Award nominations for her writing. An interesting association with an actress who was an iconoclast in her own right.