First published in 1956, Allen Ginsberg's Howl is a prophetic masterpiece—an epic raging against dehumanizing society that overcame censorship trials and obscenity charges to become one of the most widely read poems of the century. This annotated version of Ginsberg's classic is the poet's own re-creation of the revolutionary work's composition process—as well as a treasure trove of anecdotes, an intimate look at the poet's writing techniques, and a veritable social history of the 1950s.

"This volume brings together the poems that made his name as a defining figure of the counter-culture. They include the apocalyptic Howl, which became the subject of an obscenity trial when it was first published in 1956; the moving lament for his mother, Kaddish; the searing indictment of his honmeland, America; and the confessional Mescaline"--Cover.

Marking the fiftieth anniversary of "Howl," Illuminated Poems celebrates the collaboration of two visionaries of different generations: Allen Ginsberg, the quintessential Beat and America's best-known poet, and Eric Drooker, the New Yorker cover artist whose provocative, apocalyptic images add a new dimension and urgency to Ginsberg's poems.Illuminated Poems contains two works only available in this volume, an introduction by Ginsberg, and thirty-four poems from 1948 through the present day, including the poem "Howl" in its entirety. Perhaps the single poem that captures the anguish and aspirations of the Beat Generation, "Howl" was originally published fifty years ago and is one of the most widely read poems of the twentieth century.