Allen Ginsberg: The Most Influential Poet

“Poetry is the one place where people can speak their original human mind. It is the outlet for people to say in public what is known in private” (Ginsberg), As one of the most influential poets during the 20th century, Allen Ginsberg has captured many of his readers with his creative writing style such that he is often labeled as one of the founding fathers of the Beat Generation in which he introduced his famous and revolutionary poem, “Howl.” Ginsberg can be characterized as an innovative poet due to the fact that he used his writing to fight for a variety of movements such as anti-war movements. But in spite, of being considered a great poet, he also dealt with many hardships that lead him to develop himself as a great poet. Ginsberg was

There Ginsberg met men who he asked for help in meditating, he was introduced to forms of Buddhism and other western philosophies (Shanley 4). He realized that his ideal of drugs being the path to enlightenment was wrong and established the idea that meditation was the key, which, “upon returning to the United States in 1963 he wrote a new poem called “The Change” as a recognition of what he had learned through his experience” ( Shanley 4). Later on “during the Democratic National Convention of 1968, held in Chicago, Ginsberg created a sensation when he mounted a makeshift stage and chanted "om" while a clash between protesters and police played out before him at Chicago's Grant Park. He became the elder spokesman for the next generation of antiestablishment-minded youngsters—the hippies” (Oakes 2). Overall throughout his experiences Allen Ginsberg was able to generate valid ideas to support his causes for protest, while also realizing that some of his ideals were not entirely correct making him more aware of the different types of movements he was involved