A report on Howl (poem), Beat Generation and Six Gallery reading
Conceived by Wally Hedrick, this event was the first important public manifestation of the Beat Generation and helped to herald the West Coast literary revolution that continued the San Francisco Renaissance.
- Six Gallery readingAllen Ginsberg's Howl (1956), William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch (1959), and Jack Kerouac's On the Road (1957) are among the best known examples of Beat literature.
- Beat GenerationIt came to be associated with the group of writers known as the Beat Generation.
- Howl (poem)Most famously, it was at this reading that Allen Ginsberg first presented his poem Howl.
- Six Gallery readingThe poem was first performed at the Six Gallery in San Francisco on October 7, 1955.
- Howl (poem)When asked by Wally Hedrick to organize the Six Gallery reading, Ginsberg wanted Rexroth to serve as master of ceremonies, in a sense to bridge generations.
- Beat Generation5 related topics with Alpha
Allen Ginsberg
3 linksAmerican poet and writer.
American poet and writer.
As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Generation.
Ginsberg is best known for his poem "Howl", in which he denounced what he saw as the destructive forces of capitalism and conformity in the United States.
Wally Hedrick—a painter and co-founder of the Six Gallery—approached Ginsberg in mid-1955 and asked him to organize a poetry reading at the Six Gallery.
Wally Hedrick
1 linksSeminal American artist in the 1950s California counterculture, gallerist, and educator who came to prominence in the early 1960s.
Seminal American artist in the 1950s California counterculture, gallerist, and educator who came to prominence in the early 1960s.
Hedrick was also a key figure in the first important public manifestation of the Beat Generation when he helped to organize the Six Gallery Reading, and created the first artistic denunciation of American foreign policy in Vietnam.
"The Six Gallery reading" took place on October 7, 1955, at the Six Gallery, when Allen Ginsberg, at Hedrick's invitation, read "Howl" for the first time.
Kenneth Rexroth
1 linksAmerican poet, translator, and critical essayist.
American poet, translator, and critical essayist.
Although he did not consider himself to be a Beat poet, and disliked the association, he was dubbed the "Father of the Beats" by Time magazine.
With Rexroth acting as master of ceremonies, Allen Ginsberg, Philip Lamantia, Michael McClure, Gary Snyder, and Philip Whalen performed at the famous Six Gallery reading on October 7, 1955.
Rexroth later testified as a defense witness at Ferlinghetti's obscenity trial for publishing "Howl".
Philip Lamantia
1 linksAmerican poet and lecturer.
American poet and lecturer.
Lamantia was one of the post World War II poets now sometimes referred to as the San Francisco Renaissance, and later became involved with the San Francisco Beat Generation poets and the Surrealist Movement in the United States.
He was on the bill at San Francisco's Six Gallery on October 7, 1955, when poet Allen Ginsberg read his poem Howl for the first time.
Michael McClure
0 linksAmerican poet, playwright, songwriter, and novelist.
American poet, playwright, songwriter, and novelist.
After moving to San Francisco as a young man, he found fame as one of the five poets (including Allen Ginsberg) who read at the famous San Francisco Six Gallery reading in 1955, which was rendered in barely fictionalized terms in Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums.
He soon became a key member of the Beat Generation and was immortalized as Pat McLear in Kerouac's Big Sur.
Having failed in their attempts to censor Allen Ginsberg's Howl, the performances of Lenny Bruce and the San Francisco Mime Troupe, the police department was intent to succeed this time.