--- product_id: 219508 title: "Howl and Other Poems (City Lights Pocket Poets, No. 4)" price: "¥2461" currency: JPY in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.jp/products/219508-howl-and-other-poems-city-lights-pocket-poets-no-4 store_origin: JP region: Japan --- # Howl and Other Poems (City Lights Pocket Poets, No. 4) **Price:** ¥2461 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Howl and Other Poems (City Lights Pocket Poets, No. 4) - **How much does it cost?** ¥2461 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.jp](https://www.desertcart.jp/products/219508-howl-and-other-poems-city-lights-pocket-poets-no-4) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description The landmark, original publication of Allen Ginsberg’s HOWL & Other Poems HOWL & Other Poems , the prophetic book that launched the Beat Generation, was published by Lawrence Ferlinghetti at City Lights Books in 1956. Considered the single most influential work of post-WWII United States poetry, the City Lights edition of HOWL has remained in print for more than 60 years, with well over 1,000,000 copies in print. A strident critique of middle-class complacency, consumerism, and capitalist militarism, HOWL also celebrates the pleasures and freedoms of the physical world, including a tribute to homosexual love. In addition to “Howl,” poems in the book include: “A Supermarket in California,” “Sunflower Sutra,” “America,” “In the Baggage Room at Greyhound,” “Transcription of Organ Music,” and “Wild Orphan,” among others. A History of HOWL : City Lights founder Lawrence Ferlinghetti first heard Allen Ginsberg read “Howl” at the Six Gallery event in San Francisco, 1955, which featured writers Philip Lamantia, Gary Snyder, Philip Whalen, and Michael McClure, introduced by poet Kenneth Rexroth. Jack Kerouac was present, but did not read, encouraging and cheering the other poets on. Ferlinghetti was so impressed by Ginsberg’s performance, he immediately telegrammed him, referencing Ralph Waldo Emerson’s response to Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass , “I greet you at the beginning of a great career. When do I get the manuscript?” When the first edition of HOWL arrived from its British printers, it was seized almost immediately by U.S. Customs, and shortly thereafter the San Francisco police arrested its publisher and editor, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, together with the City Lights Bookstore manager, Shigeyoshi Murao. The two were charged with disseminating obscene literature, and the case was sent to trial. Ferlinghetti partnered with the ACLU to launch a defense of HOWL , and a parade of distinguished literary and academic witnesses appeared in court to persuade the judge of its merits. In the end, famously conservative Judge Clayton Horn ruled that the poem was not obscene, but rather, as he stated emphatically, HOWL was a work of “redeeming social significance.” The landmark decision signaled a sea change in American culture, and the City Lights edition of HOWL became a vital cornerstone in the ongoing struggle for free expression and representation. It continues to attract generation after generation of readers. Review: Finally, proudly, on my bookshelf. - While I was alive during the time that Ginsberg was living and writing HOWL, I was too young to have experienced this sort of life myself. And, based on his graphic depictions, I cringe to think I ever could have found myself in a similar situation. This is poetry. But it is not pretty. This is life. But it is not beautiful. Ginsberg writes a poem that is a cry from the soul, a view of his world through tired, sunken eyes. It is brutal in its honesty. But even as I read it, I was reminded of the Book of Job, and the rantings of Biblical prophets. Not just a should read, it is an integral volume of the Canon of Poetry, as necessary as anything by Homer, Keats, Shakespeare, Heaney, Plath: it belongs in your memory, and on your bookshelf. Review: Ginsberg's Triumph - Allen Ginsberg is considered one of the great poets of our time, and almost without exception is considered the best poet of the Beat Generation. Both of these statements are true, in my opinion. The only beat poet who comes close is Gregory Corso, though they were poets with completely different styles, making them difficult to compare. Howl is extremely poetic and artistic, but in a way that envelops and expresses thoughts at a basic human level. The style is raw, loud, cacephonic, even vulgar in a good way because it is real. As you read Howl, you see and feel the joy, pain, and anger of humans living in the modern world, as they struggle through the crowd and the buildings and the machinery that make this world operate. Howl is real, human, raw, and any number of other adjectives that are not necessary, because the message comes through with a serious reading of the poem. The rest of the poems are equally great, but the book is defined by its namesake poem. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #27,330 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #10 in LGBTQ+ Poetry (Books) #66 in Religious Poetry (Books) #88 in American Poetry (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,225 Reviews | ## Images ![Howl and Other Poems (City Lights Pocket Poets, No. 4) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71yoS2G7KqL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Finally, proudly, on my bookshelf. *by J***M on August 22, 2014* While I was alive during the time that Ginsberg was living and writing HOWL, I was too young to have experienced this sort of life myself. And, based on his graphic depictions, I cringe to think I ever could have found myself in a similar situation. This is poetry. But it is not pretty. This is life. But it is not beautiful. Ginsberg writes a poem that is a cry from the soul, a view of his world through tired, sunken eyes. It is brutal in its honesty. But even as I read it, I was reminded of the Book of Job, and the rantings of Biblical prophets. Not just a should read, it is an integral volume of the Canon of Poetry, as necessary as anything by Homer, Keats, Shakespeare, Heaney, Plath: it belongs in your memory, and on your bookshelf. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Ginsberg's Triumph *by P***N on July 11, 2010* Allen Ginsberg is considered one of the great poets of our time, and almost without exception is considered the best poet of the Beat Generation. Both of these statements are true, in my opinion. The only beat poet who comes close is Gregory Corso, though they were poets with completely different styles, making them difficult to compare. Howl is extremely poetic and artistic, but in a way that envelops and expresses thoughts at a basic human level. The style is raw, loud, cacephonic, even vulgar in a good way because it is real. As you read Howl, you see and feel the joy, pain, and anger of humans living in the modern world, as they struggle through the crowd and the buildings and the machinery that make this world operate. Howl is real, human, raw, and any number of other adjectives that are not necessary, because the message comes through with a serious reading of the poem. The rest of the poems are equally great, but the book is defined by its namesake poem. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Classic *by T***A on April 1, 2026* Seminal work of poetry ## Frequently Bought Together - Howl and Other Poems (City Lights Pocket Poets, No. 4) - Naked Lunch: The Restored Text - On the Road: The Original Scroll (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.jp/products/219508-howl-and-other-poems-city-lights-pocket-poets-no-4](https://www.desertcart.jp/products/219508-howl-and-other-poems-city-lights-pocket-poets-no-4) --- *Product available on Desertcart Japan* *Store origin: JP* *Last updated: 2026-10-13*