Allen Ginsberg’s Centennial: Celebrating the Poet’s Work While Confronting His Nambla Ties
With the centenary of Allen Ginsberg's birth nearing on June 3, various events are planned to honor his contributions. These include a September reissue of his 1959 spoken-word album 'Howl and Other Poems' by Craft Recordings, a special evening at the Southbank Centre in London, an exhibition at Stanford University, and events in New York featuring Laurie Anderson and Patti Smith. Peter Hale, who encountered Ginsberg at 17 and now manages his estate, reflects on Ginsberg's multifaceted legacy, including his controversial support for the North American Man/Boy Love Association (Nambla) in the late 1970s. Although Ginsberg later deemed his involvement “probably a mistake,” he initially viewed it as a matter of free speech. Ginsberg passed away in his Lower East Side apartment on April 5, 1997, surrounded by Hale, Patti Smith, and others.
Key facts
- Ginsberg’s centennial is marked by a vinyl reissue of 'Howl and Other Poems' on September 4 via Craft Recordings.
- Events include an evening at London’s Southbank Centre, an exhibition at Stanford University, and New York performances by Laurie Anderson and Patti Smith.
- Peter Hale met Ginsberg at age 17 and now runs the Ginsberg estate.
- Ginsberg supported Nambla, a group advocating to abolish age-of-consent laws, from the late 1970s onward.
- Hale says Ginsberg was 'incredibly naive' about Nambla and later called it 'probably a mistake.'
- Ginsberg’s essay 'Thoughts on Nambla' defends his membership as a civil liberties issue.
- Ginsberg’s last major work, 'Ballad of the Skeletons' (1995), involved Paul McCartney, Philip Glass, and Gus Van Sant.
- Ginsberg died on April 5, 1997, in his Lower East Side apartment.
Entities
Artists
- Allen Ginsberg
- Peter Hale
- Jack Kerouac
- William S. Burroughs
- Bob Dylan
- Laurie Anderson
- Patti Smith
- Paul McCartney
- Philip Glass
- Gus Van Sant
- David S. Wills
- Bill Morgan
- Bob Rosenthal
- Andrea Dworkin
- David Thorstad
- Harry Hay
- Camille Paglia
- Michel Foucault
- Roland Barthes
- Simone de Beauvoir
- Guy Hocquenghem
- Gelek Rinpoche
- Peter Orlovsky
- Joan Baez
- Roberta Flack
Institutions
- Naropa University
- City Lights
- The Clash
- American Academy of Arts and Letters
- Southbank Centre
- Stanford University
- North American Man/Boy Love Association (Nambla)
- FBI
- International Lesbian and Gay Association
- Gay Activists Alliance
- Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights
- Mercury Records
- Craft Recordings
- The Guardian
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- San Francisco
- United States
- New York
- Lower East Side
- Czechoslovakia
- Prague
- Czech Republic