Jersey Bookshelf

Books by and about Jersey musicians

‘The Fall Of America: Journals,’ by Allen Ginsberg
Mike Greenblatt Mike Greenblatt

‘The Fall Of America: Journals,’ by Allen Ginsberg

In 1974, Newark poet Allen Ginsberg [1926-1997] had his groundbreaking The Fall of America: Poems of These States 1965-1971 published by City Lights Bookstore. The poet had originally recited these poems into a reel-to-reel tape recorder given to him by Bob Dylan. In 2020, Michael Schumaker, who previously chronicled the rise of beat culture (precursor to hippie culture), transcribed, edited and annotated those original tapes for the University of Minnesota Press so that The Fall Of America: Journals could bring to light Ginsberg’s comments, reflections, dreams and reactions to his own poetry.

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