Repackaged and refreshed, this seminal biography of a counter-cultural icon is re-issued to form a core part of the Virgin backlist
‘Will surely be consulted as an Ur-text for decades to come. Read it to the end… and you’ll know why he matters.’ Michael Horowitz,
Sunday TimesAllen Ginsberg occupies a significant and enduring position in American literature. Following Ginsberg’s death in 1997, Barry Miles has drawn on both his long friendship with the poet and on Ginsberg’s journals and correspondence to produce an immensely readable account of one of the twentieth century’s most extraordinary poets.
Author ProfileBarry Miles
is author of many seminal books on popular culture, including the authorised biography of Paul McCartney,
Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now;
Ginsberg: A Biography;
Jack Kerouac: King of the Beats and
The Beat Hotel: Ginsberg, Burroughs and Corso in Paris, 1957–1963.ReviewsThis is a scholarly work and also much fun.,Will surely be consulted as an Ur-text for decades to come. Read it at the end, along with Ginsberg's fifteen best books, and you'll know why he matters.,Skilfully evokes the poet's childhood, authoritatively expresses his opinions on sundry matters of later life and work, gives him his due as lifeforce of youthful rebellion and in the 1960s counter. Read it; you'll enjoy yourself.,Concentrating on the simultaneity of the public and private in Ginsberg's life, Miles gives us a richer insight into his poetic value - and a better read - than many a tight-lipped critical filleting.
