Hats off to David S Wills (author of World Citizen – Allen Ginsberg as Traveller and editor of the inestimable Beatdom) for this wonderful article on Allen Ginsberg’s juvenilia – “Allen Ginsberg’s First Poem?” – a plethora of old newspaper-clippings, endearing appearances, skillfully presented (you can click on each image to see a larger version), culled from the local (1930’s and 1940’s New Jersey) press. Thank you, David.
See the original Beatdom posting – here
The proposed “first poem” (first published poem?) – “The Dream World” (published in The (Paterson N.J,) Morning Call, July 1st, 1937) – shades of “The Shadow“? – Allen would be all of ten years old!
“Crime Does Not Pay”, (a charming little ditty), from the same paper, January 27, 1938, the following year:
and a more jaded (more sophisticated) work from a few weeks later:
And not forgetting (also from this period) The Book of Martyrdom and Artifice, the published book of Allen’s early journals and poems.
