Irwin Allen Ginsberg (June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet known as one of the central figures of The Beat Generation in the Fifties. His poetry was incendiary, attracting both praise and legal challenges, obscenity bans and censorship. His best known work is Howl (1955). Unlike most of his contemporaries of the Beat Generation, he remained a public figure well beyond the Fifties. In the Sixties, he was associating with many of the most notable hippies - his most famous appearance during this period was during the March on the Pentagon
, where he led the crowd in Tibetan chants while Abbie Hoffman attempted to levitate the Pentagon. He also made a few forays into music, joined Bob Dylan on his 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue tour, and opened for The Clash in 1982, as well as guesting on their album Combat Rock.
Tropes in the work of Allan Ginsberg include:
- Banned in China: His work is still banned from many school libraries today.
- Referenced by...: Hark! A Vagrant:
- "Hipsters Ruin Everything, Part 1" has some of the The Beat Generation watching some Beatniks create a pop culture that caricatures the poets in bemusement. At least Allen thinks they're amusing.
- "Car Games" depicts Allen having an unconventional take on playing I Spy.
- "Hipsters Ruin Everything, Part 1"
- Shout-Out: Walt Whitman gets a Shout Out in "A Supermarket in California".
