{"product_id":"howl-on-trial-the-battle-for-free-expression-9780872864795","title":"Howl on Trial: The Battle for Free Expression","description":"\u003cp\u003eTo celebrate the 50th anniversary of \u003cem\u003eHowl and Other Poems, \u003c\/em\u003e with nearly one million copies in print, City Lights presents the story of editing, publishing and defending Allen Ginsberg's landmark poem within a broader context of obscenity issues and censorship of literary works.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis collection begins with an introduction by publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who shares his memories of hearing \u003cem\u003eHowl\u003c\/em\u003e first read at the 6 Gallery, of his arrest and of the subsequent legal defense of \u003cem\u003eHowl\u003c\/em\u003e's publication. Never-before-published correspondence of Ginsberg, Ferlinghetti, Kerouac, Gregory Corso, John Hollander, Richard Eberhart and others provides an in-depth commentary on the poem's ethical intent and its social significance to the author and his contemporaries. A section on the public reaction to the trial includes newspaper reportage, op-ed pieces by Ginsberg and Ferlinghetti and letters to the editor from the public, which provide fascinating background material on the cultural climate of the mid-1950s. A timeline of literary censorship in the United States places this battle for free expression in a historical context.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlso included are photographs, transcripts of relevant trial testimony, Judge Clayton Horn's decision and its ramifications and a long essay by Albert Bendich, the ACLU attorney who defended \u003cem\u003eHowl\u003c\/em\u003e on constitutional grounds. Editor Bill Morgan discusses more recent challenges to \u003cem\u003eHowl\u003c\/em\u003e in the late 1980s and how the fight against censorship continues today in new guises.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eBill Morgan is a painter and archival consultant working in New York City. He is the author of \u003cem\u003eThe Beat Generation in San Francisco: A Walking Tour of Jack Kerouac's City\u003c\/em\u003e and a new biography of Allen Ginsberg, \u003cem\u003eI Celebrate Myself\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"City Lights Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50330142671122,"sku":"9780872864795","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_efd9c5c8-39a6-48a0-9f70-8e400f0d7c57.jpg?v=1727793216","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/howl-on-trial-the-battle-for-free-expression-9780872864795","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}