The People v. Ferlinghetti: The Fight to Publish Allen Ginsberg's Howl

(Hardback)

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Description

Lawrence Ferlinghettis name does not appear in any First Amendment treatise or casebook. And yet when the best-selling poet and proprietor of City Lights Books was indicted under California law for publishing and selling Allen Ginsbergs poem, Howl, Ferglinghetti buttressed the tradition of dissident expression and ended an era when minds were still closed, candid literature still taboo, and when selling banned books was considered a crime.

The People v. Ferlinghetti is the story of a rebellious poet, a revolutionary poem, an intrepid book publisher, and a bookseller unintimidated by federal or local officials. There is much color in that story: the bizarre twists of the trial, the swagger of the lead lawyer, the savvy of the young ACLU lawyer, and the surprise verdict of the Sunday school teacher who presided as judge. With a novelists flair, noted free speech authorities, Ronald K. L. Collins and David Skover tell the true story of an American maverick who refused to play it safe and who in the process gave staying power to freedom of the press in America. The People v. Ferlinghetti will be of interest to anyone interested the history of free speech in America and the history of the Beat poets.

Reviews

Lawyers Collins and Skover offer a mix of literary and legal history that builds steam as it arrives at its high point: the 1957 obscenity trial over the publication of Allen Ginsbergs Howl. In the early chapters, the authors offer background on Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the Sorbonne PhD who opened City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco in 1953 and became a strong supporter of beat literature. They trace, too, Ginsbergs composition of Howl and his relationship with Ferlinghetti, a daring but careful publisher of his work. The authors are at their strongest describing the trial, clearly explaining the legal issues at stake. . . . .[An] intriguing epilogue on Ginsberg and Ferlinghettis legacy, and an appendix that for the first time publishes the judges full opinion in The People v. Ferlinghetti, add value to a worthwhile effort. * Publishers Weekly *
The story of the obscenity trial surrounding Allen Ginsberg's Howl has often been told, but this study provides some additional information, including the unabridged 1957 judgment by Judge Clayton Horn (People of the State of California v. Lawrence Ferlingetti B 27585) and a 2007 interview with Ferlinghetti, the publisher of Ginsberg's Howl and owner of the store raided by the police on June 3,1957. Collins (Univ. of Washington School of Law) and Skover (Seattle Univ. School of Law) succinctlyand breezilygive background on Ginsberg, the writing and publication of Howl, and the trial, which ended in acquittal. They pay attention to the legal and social impact of the case rather than to the literary qualities of the poem. Ginsberg's work had immense literary influence. Beyond its centrality for the Beat Generation, its role in the history of freedom of thought in the US is undeniable. This book probably has the last word on a key American censorship trial. The helpful apparatus includes a timeline, a list of printed and archival sources, copious notes, and a full index. * Choice Reviews *
One impressive feat the co-authors . . . masterfully accomplished was to reconstruct the as issued 1957 opinion, with its original case citations fully restored. Collins and Skover are intimately familiar with the material . . . The text is just 105 pages but is amply supplemented with an addendum that includes the fully reconstructed opinion, a 2007 interview of Lawrence Ferlinghetti with Pacific Radio (on the trials 50th anniversary), a timeline of Ferlinghettis life and copious source notes on the material. . . . [An] outstanding presentation of the Howl legal saga. * New York Law Journal *
Written with affection and suspense...the book unpacks Ferlinghetti's decision to publish a work that he knew would likely put him, and the nature of free speech, on trial. With attention to his work as a publisher, we get a glimpse of the millions of simple decisions that made so many pieces of art, including Howl, come to life. * LA Review of Books *
[Ferlinghetti] played a unique role in the LGBT history when he decided to publish Allen Ginsbergs Howl in the not-very-queer year of 1957. After that, talk about gay sex became much more public. . . . as a reference on a free-speech victory for LGBT people, [the book] fills a clear need and tells a good story. * Gay and Lesbian Review *
This is the Howl story as it has never been told riveting and reliable. It is the remarkable story of a courageous publisher and bookseller who tested the law to give voice to a poem howling to be born. With artful skill and scholarly research, the authors highlight Lawrence Ferlinghettis rightful place in history, not only as a great American poet but also as a fearless defender of liberty. -- Matt Theado, author of "Understanding Jack Kerouac" and "The Beats: A Literary Reference"
Lawrence Ferlinghetti is a too little recognized one-hundred year old First Amendment hero, a poet, painter, bookseller and book publisher whose devotion to freedom of expression has been boundless. In this splendid book about Ferlinghetti, Collins and Skover combine a mastery of narrative with profound insight in a manner that inspires us all to recommit ourselves to the uniquely American experiment in free-speech freedom. -- Floyd Abrams, senior counsel, Cahill Gordon & Reindel
When it comes to First Amendment scholarship and storytelling, Collins and Skover are in a league of their own. With verve and vision, their engaging free speech narratives capture what has often been overlooked. That their latest work should focus on Lawrence Ferlinghetti (that rebel poet and publisher) is no surprise. His story lends itself perfectly to the kind of First Amendment history that sorely needs to be retold with historical accuracy, jurisprudential insight, and literary lan the very kind of undertaking Collins and Skover have perfected. -- Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley School of Law
A riveting and rollicking account of a mad effort to prosecute a poem and its publisher and Bookseller. Lawrence Ferlinghettis bold defense of freedom of the press is a remarkable story, told here in the poetic spirit of its protagonists. -- David Cole, National Legal Director, American Civil Liberties Union

Author Bio

Ronald K.L. Collins is Harold S. Shefelman Scholar, University of Washington School of Law. David M. Skover is Fredric C. Tausend Professor of Law, Seattle University School of Law. Together they have coauthored several books including The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall and Rise of an American Icon (Sourcebooks, 2002) and On Dissent: Its Meaning in America (Cambridge, 2013)