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

Synopsis

Lawrence Ferlinghetti's 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 Ginsberg's 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 Novelist's 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.-- Prologue : The Self-made Man -- It's The Only Way To See -- The Biography Of A Bookstore -- Howl : The Poem Struggling To Be Born -- The Publisher : When Do I Get The Manuscript? -- The Bust : Law And Literature -- The High Court : Justice Brennan's Constitutional Handiwork -- The Judge : The Story Of The Sunday School Bible Teacher -- The Courtroom : Poetry On Trial -- The Verdict : Vindicated! -- Aftermath : The Poet And The Publisher -- Déjà Vu : Fighting The Fcc 50 Years Later -- Epilogue : Onward: Where Are Whitman's Wild Children? -- People V. Ferlinghetti (1957 Unpublished Opinion) -- 2007 Pacifica Interview With Lawrence Ferlinghetti And Commentary. Ronald K. L. Collins And David M. Skover. Includes Bibliography Of The Works Of Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Bibliographical References (pages 157-186) And Index.