How easy would it be to get into the works of Allen Ginsberg?

Cafe Society
1

This is sort of a meta thread, inspired by the current thread about rap in which @NAF1138 mentions Allen Ginsberg, and my own thread on Haruki Murakami’s Pinball. In Wild Sheep Chase, the sequel to Pinball, which I just started today, there’s a character who enjoys reading Allen Ginsberg.

Up until today, I had never heard of him, and now I run across his name twice in one day. Naturally I’m curious to know a little bit more about his work, but just like in the rap thread, I’m not sure his stuff is aimed at someone like me ( a middle aged upper middle class professional). For those who are familiar with his work, would you all recommend him, and if so what would be a good place to start?

2

I would start here

Edit: this isn’t a bad companion. Just found it, but the sound quality is pretty good.

3

he was into Buddhist medication/chanting as well a psychotropic “herbs” (see the yage letters), political activist, part of Beat movement , spoken word poet

4

Reading a bio, even the Wikipedia entry, would be helpful. Ginsberg was not a baby boomer–he was born in 1926–but had a big influence on “the Sixties.” The poem Howl speaks to many issues, from naked capitalism to the atomic bomb, and it is also intensely personal.