SOURCE: "Allen Ginsberg: An Interview by Gary Pacernick," in The American Poetry Review, Vol. 4, July/August, 1997, pp. 23-27.

[In the following interview, Ginsberg discusses inspiration and his role in American poetry.]

[Pacernick]: The tape is on now; this is the beginning.

[Ginsberg]: "This is the forest primeval, the murmuring pines and the hemlocks, bearded with / moss …"

Allen, what have you found the hardest thing about being a poet?

Nothing particular. I mean—nothing particular. No hard part.

Okay.

Making a living at it. Making a living.

Well, what about inspiration? Has it always been easy?

Inspiration comes from the word spiritus. Spiritus means breathing. Inspiration means taking in breath. Expiration means letting breath go out. So inspiration is just a feeling of heightened breath or slightly exalted breath, when the body feels like a hollow reed in the wind of breath. Physical breath comes easily and thoughts come...