Allen Ginsberg's Book of Martyrdom and Artifice

More so than perhaps any other American author, Allen Ginsberg was known for his constant and prolific journal-keeping. From boyhood until his death, Ginsberg recorded everything from his daily minutiae to the most inspired notions of a luminous mind. When he died in 1997, he left behind more than 300 journals, of which much was unavailable to the public until recently.

Edited by Allen Ginsberg's literary archivest, The Book of Martyrdom and Artifice is a collection of his early poems and journal entries. Entries from 1937 show the poet's recorded thoughts and voice far outstripping his tender age, and the bulk of the collection from Ginsberg's years at Columbia is full of recalled conversations with Kerouac, Burroughs, Cassady and other Beat icons, ruminations on his own homosexuality, and pivotal events of his formative years.

Toss in over 100 early poems and yet unseen photographs from Ginsberg's own archive, and The Book of Martyrdom and Artifice becomes a must-have for readers of Allen Ginsberg's poetry or fans of the Beats in general.