He is the guy who coined the use of "hipster" in reference to fashionable youths. Still, he blew his entire wad with "Howl".

Between "rated" and "over:" rated, because he's an important link in American culture, and influenced a lot of people who went on to influence more people (I guess that's saying the same thing twice).

Overrated, because 99% of poetry is stupid.



Yep, simply because I say it is.

Over-rated.... It's not like he's the 2nd Earl of Rochester of anything.

2nd Earl of Rochester: OVERRATED!

He was Patti Smith's friend.

I didn't know David Cross wrote poetry.

I'm just going to quote from his seminal 1977 publication, MIND BREATHS:

I went down to Santa Fe take vacation there
Indians selling turquoise in dobe huts in Taos Pueblo Square
Got headache in La Fonda, I could get sick anywhere

Must be my bad karma, fuckin these pretty boys
Hungry ghosts chasing me, because I been chasing joys
Lying here in bed alone, playing with my toys

Someday I'm gonna get out of here, go somewhere alone
Yeah I'm going to leave this town with noise rattling bone
I got the sickness blues, you'll miss me when I'm gone

Sorry Allen... OVERRATED.

I agree, underrated. People think he 'blew his entire wad' (a term my own mother would use in public ...much to my embarrassment as you may be able to imagine) on Howl.

To which I respond with a hearty but jovial, Pffffffftftftftft.

I mean, what about 'America'?
Ha ha ha!

Oh, yeah... and here's another reason why he's under rated:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWxl-HvwjJs

Fuck yeah.

Rated, but he's no Kerouac.

Ginsburg is pure hackery, my friend.

I'm with those who cast a jaundiced eye on poems. Either they are awesome great or sad awful. But find me a poet or singer now that is Ginsberg political, extra credit for genre breaking. You can use this thread.

I say: Rated. Because on the one hand he's given due credit for writing some objectively awesome poetry ("Howl", "America"), but on the other hand he's also given a well-earned degree of shit for being associated with the most superficially awful of all American literary movements, as well as being liked way way WAY too much by college sophomores who ascribe transcendental importance to things like road-tripping to Mexico. He's sort of like the Grateful Dead in that he becomes much more palatable if you ignore his biggest fans.

any of the beats: over-rated! Why did these guys ever even get rated? Because the youth and their marijuana my friends. And because acid.

Cool feature anyhow.