SOURCE: Henry, William A., III. “In New York: ‘Howl’ Becomes a Hoot.” In On the Poetry of Allen Ginsberg, edited by Lewis Hyde, pp. 367-69. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1984.

In the following essay, which first appeared in 1981, Henry describes an early 1980s public reading of “Howl” by poet Allen Ginsberg.

Night, the hour of poets, on a windy street in the part of New York City where academe meets Harlem. Outside a nondescript building, a man calls to an acquaintance. The second replies, “Allen Ginsberg reading ‘Howl’? It's tempting, but …” He walks on.

Inside McMillin Theater at Columbia University, an audience of about 900 assembles. Most appear to be younger than the poem they are to hear. A few are bearded hippies loyal to the Movement. A few are enervated, gentle, Buddhistic Wasps. A handful are black. All around are flannel shirts, funny hats, sleeping children, the...