Howl for Carl Solomon - Introduction by William Carlos Williams Summary

Preliminary discussion of the poem:

William Carlos Williams talks of knowing Allen Ginsberg as a young poet in Paterson, New Jersey. He says Ginsberg was much disturbed by his encounters with life in the years after the end of World War I, as he lived in and about New York City. Williams says that Ginsberg has an ability to survive, travel, write and continually develop his art. He also says that HOWL is an arresting poem and indicates that Ginsberg has gone through hell in his life. He relates that Ginsberg met Carl Solomon and shared something with him that can only be described by the words written in HOWL. He says HOWL is a "howl of defeat." He says everyone is defeated in this...