That Ginsberg should have had the courage to set down these thoughts during the black-and-white 1950's, when (we are led to believe) America was becoming a more homogenized society, is remarkable. This poem bears a date of 1956 at its conclusion. But when put in some type of historical context that power is magnified and the poems worth becomes clearer, its value magnified. It's hard to read this poem and not be moved by its sheer frankness, or the power of its rhythm. I will however dwell on one characteristic all great jazz players' posses and which this poem exemplifies. " There is much good literature on the relation between the Beat movement and jazz, I'll not try and revisit that topic here. Current events, such as they are, prompted me to go back and re-read Allen Ginsberg's poem " America.
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