The Left Wing Hall Of Fame: Allen Ginsberg

ALLEN GINSBERG:

Allen Ginsberg wasn't a polititian, but he was very politically active. A poet and a founder of the Beat Generation, Ginsberg made up the more political faction of Beatnik writers. At different times calling himself a Trotskyist and an anarchist, Ginsberg opposed the status quo, as well as consevative politics. In the poem "America", Ginsberg confesses his idealistic communist beliefs yet also professes he believes that the Soviets had turned socialism into something just as bad as capitalism. Despite his anarchist political tendancies, Ginsberg was a huge supporter or freedom of speech and was active in many anti-war protests. He, along with other Leftists like Che Guevara and Malcom X, provided an alternative to the rigid, oppressive communism of the Soviet Union. These beliefs created a revitalised Left-Wing, called the "New Left".