Visionary poet Allen Ginsberg was one of the most influential cultural and literary figures of
the 20th century his face and political causes familiar to millions who had never even read
his poetry. And yet he is a figure that remains little understood especially how a troubled
young man became one of the intellectual and artistic giants of the postwar era. He never
published an autobiography or memoirs believing that his body of work should suffice. The
Essential Allen Ginsberg attempts a more intimate and rounded portrait of this iconic poet by
bringing together for the first time his most memorable poetry but also journals music
photographs and letters much of it never before published.
