I think it was when I ran into Kerouac and Burroughs - when I was 17 - that I realized I was talking through an empty skull... I wasn't thinking my own thoughts or saying my own thoughts.

Quote by Allen Ginsberg

Topics: Allen Ginsberg Quotes

America, how can I write a holy litany in your silly mood?

America, how can I write a holy litany in your silly mood?

America, I've given you all and now I'm nothing.

America, I've given you all and now I'm nothing.

...who passed through universities with radiant cool eyes hallucinating Arkansas and Blake-light tragedy among the...

...who passed through universities with radiant cool eyes hallucinating Arkansas and Blake-light tragedy among the...

My own experience is that a certain kind of genius among students is best brought...

My own experience is that a certain kind of genius among students is best brought...

The weight of the world is love. Under the burden of solitude, under the burden...

The weight of the world is love. Under the burden of solitude, under the burden...

Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It's that time of night, lying...

Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It's that time of night, lying...

The only thing that can save the world is the reclaiming of the awareness of...

The only thing that can save the world is the reclaiming of the awareness of...

America I'm putting my queer shoulder to the wheel.

America I'm putting my queer shoulder to the wheel.

Follow your inner moonlight; don't hide the madness.

Follow your inner moonlight; don't hide the madness.

Democracy! Bah! When I hear that I reach for my feather Boa!

Democracy! Bah! When I hear that I reach for my feather Boa!

Ultimately Warhol's private moral reference was to the supreme kitsch of the Catholic church.

Ultimately Warhol's private moral reference was to the supreme kitsch of the Catholic church.

Poets are Damned... but See with the Eyes of Angels.

Poets are Damned... but See with the Eyes of Angels.

Whoever controls the media, the images, controls the culture.

Whoever controls the media, the images, controls the culture.

The fact to which we have got to cling, as to a lifebelt, is that...

The fact to which we have got to cling, as to a lifebelt, is that...

Fortunately art is a community effort - a small but select community living in a...

Fortunately art is a community effort - a small but select community living in a...

It isn't enough for your heart to break because everybody's heart is broken now.

It isn't enough for your heart to break because everybody's heart is broken now.

Poetry is the one place where people can speak their original human mind. It is...

Poetry is the one place where people can speak their original human mind. It is...

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked.

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked.

I want people to bow as they see me and say he is gifted with...

I want people to bow as they see me and say he is gifted with...