Literature · 2
What was the judge's ruling in the 1957 obscenity trial over the publication of Allen Ginsberg's 'Howl'?
Answer
The publisher was acquitted after the poem was ruled to have redeeming social importance
Judge Clayton Horn found that 'Howl' possessed 'redeeming social importance' and acquitted Ferlinghetti, establishing an important precedent for literary free expression.
💡 Did you know?
The Beats were nearly destroyed by a single obscenity trial—Lawrence Ferlinghetti faced jail time for publishing Ginsberg's 'Howl,' which ultimately freed American poetry.
Other options people guess
- The publisher was convicted and served jail time
- The poem was permanently banned from sale in the United States
- The case ended in a hung jury with no verdict reached
Topics
- beat-generation
- poetry
- censorship
- first-amendment
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