The Edible Allen Ginsberg - by The Allen Ginsberg Estate (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

The Edible Allen Ginsberg is a richly illustrated keepsake book that celebrates the poet's centennial through the lens of food, community, and counterculture. Organized chronologically, the book pairs Ginsberg's original poems, food writings, and letters with recipes inspired by his travels, friendships, and famously convivial potluck suppers.

The book begins by tracing Ginsberg's early years, from New York City boyhood and Columbia days through his trip to San Francisco where he performed his groundbreaking poem, "Howl" and explored the West Coast Beat scene. Featuring recipes and archival materials reflecting his bohemian diets and international journeys, this book invites readers to encounter dishes like his Aloo Gobi alongside evocative texts such as "A Supermarket in California" and excerpts from Reality Sandwiches.

Later chapters focus on Ginsberg's return to New York and his legendary potlucks hosted in his East Village apartment and highlight his friends and contemporaries own recollections and recipes, creating a portrait of the acclaimed writer who nourished his community. The book closes with an intimate reflection on his final years and his "last soup," weaving food into memory and legacy.

Peppered with photographs, ephemera, excerpts and recipes, The Edible Allen Ginsberg invites readers--fans of Ginsberg, the Beats, literary history, and culinary culture enthusiasts--to taste the life of a modern American visionary.

About the Author

Allen Ginsberg (born June 3rd, 1926 in Newark, New Jersey), was an American poet whose epic poem Howl (1956) is considered to be one of the most significant products of the Beat movement. Ginsberg's often-incendiary poetry addressed the most controversial subjects in American culture throughout the 1950s-1960s, including homosexuality, drug addiction, materialism and faith. Left-wing activist, counterculture icon, and radical poet, Ginsberg, a lifelong buddhist, travelled widely, lectured memorably, and dined frequently, often at his Lower East Side apartment, enveloped by friends, lovers, and devotees. Allen Ginsberg died April 5th, 1997, New York, New York. Today, The Allen Ginsberg Estate, directed by Peter Thale, maintains Ginsberg's iconoclastic legacy.