Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg, William Carlos Williams

10 reviews

theroadjones's review against another edition

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challenging dark

3.75

Copying from my Goodreads: These are great poems, yeah, but obviously the racism and homophobia knock it down a star for me. I know some people get really up in arms about modern readers applying modern politics to older works. I'm not doing that. I'm not expecting a bunch of white, straight guys living in the 40s to be anything other than racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, etc. But as a modern reader I'm just not a big fan of reading slurs, y'know?

That being said "I always wanted to return to the body where I was born" just hit me right in the soul and right in the gut.

Favourite poems from the collection:
  • Howl
  • A Supermarket in California
  • America
  • In The Baggage Room At Greyhound

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_quinnsreads's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

5.0

*Holy my mother in the insane asylum! Holy the cocks of the grandfathers in Kansas!

Somehow I've managed to get a joyous fun out of Ginsberg's intricately bizzare prose of poetry but sublime on another level and then realized he's damn good actually. This dude had a glorious time being a beatnik around his time. I like poems like these.

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imrereads's review against another edition

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2.5

I had high hopes for this, but ultimately found it difficult to understand. I don't know if it's my lack of cultural and historical context or my unfamiliarity with beat poetry (or both), but I think a lot of this went over my head. Towards the end of the collection, I did find a few poems that I enjoyed, particularly An Asphodel and Song, and I wonder if I liked thos better because by the time I read them I had become more familiar with Ginsberg's style and his themes. I wonder if it would be helpful to read it again, perhaps after doing some research.

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wifescullys's review against another edition

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3.0

just don’t think i’m a poetry guy.. did like “wild orphan”.

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thefigtree's review against another edition

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dark reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

it's far better listened to or read aloud than just read. on spotify you can get most of it read by ginsberg himself or you can find various readings by patti smith.
either way its better out loud than just read,
i loved it though his poetry is great if you have the patience to sit and read through it over and over

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hannahmeg's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

5.0


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ariam's review against another edition

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dark emotional

3.5

My favorite poems were “a supermarket in california” , “america”, and “song”.

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emmarosebooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective fast-paced

4.0


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satansbraten's review against another edition

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3.75


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_kimb's review against another edition

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4.25


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