Blog Post 4, Topic 1

Can a poem elicit such a strong response from a reader that they create their own works in response? Can literature be so powerful it calls people to action? The answer is yes, this idea is exemplified by Diane di Prima’s Revolutionary Letters. Di Prima collection of poems act as a response to Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl”, that calls her audience to take action against issues exhibited by both poets including loss of individual thought and industrialization.  

Ginsberg’s “Howl” is written in response to 1950’s culture, initially addressing the issue of intellectual conformity. The poem begins with “I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness” drawing attention to the loss of creative thought. All the intellectuals who added value to society are portrayed as outcasts from the conventional population “expelled from the academies” and “dragged off roofs waving genitals and manuscripts.” These intellectuals suffer because their individualistic ways of thinking causes them to be of ostracized by the mainstream population. To deal with this rejection- this madness- they “[drag] themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix...with dreams, with drugs… alcohol and cock”. They replace the emotional support and acceptance needed from their peers with various substance that aid with their coping of this rejection. These great minds succumb to the pressure of traditional ideals, not by accepting them personal; but by allowing the rejection of their controversial beliefs to stop the production of new ideas in favor of pacifying coping methods.

Di Prima’s “Revolutionary Letter #19” also address the issue of intellectual conformity by taking on the education system. School is described as a facility where “kids are pushed into one shape”. This is a metaphor for the way that schools force children to adapt a uniform way of thinking instead of allowing them to have individualized thought processes. While Ginsberg poem explains what happens when individual thinkers are exiled from society, di Prima’s poem addresses one of the main roots of the problem. She highlights an institution that, from childhood, tries to dispose of individual thinking and enforces normal behaviors. By doing this di Prima is recognizing a specific aspect of society that can be changed to better support individual’s ideas, providing readers with a direction that they can actually get involved with and force a change.

Ginsberg also addresses the issue of industrialization in part II of his poem by introducing a monster like figure “Moloch”. Moloch symbolizes the mechanical and dehumanizing society of the time described as something “whose soul is electricity and bank” and “mind is pure machinery”. Moloch’s human characteristic are depicted in industrial terms to show how industrialization has dominated civilization and how individuals now live their lives through machines. Moloch soul is related to banks or the materialism that drives society and his mind is machinery showing the complete lack of human connection. By describing this demonic character with machine like qualities Ginsberg villainies industrialization and highlights specific negative impacts caused by it.

Di Prima’s “Revolutionary Letter #9” responds to this issue of industrialism as well. The poem opens with “advocating the overthrow of government is a crime’’ to immediately challenge the authority of the government. But then proceeds to deemphasize the importance of government by stating “but don’t kid yourself: government is not where it’s at” alluding to the power major corporations have and their massive influence on the American economy. Here di Prima is suggesting that the entire corporate system is to blame for the issues that plagued society at the time, such as materialism, a concept previously introduced in “Howl” . This is exhibited by the steps she listed for a revolution: “1. kill head of Dow Chemical 2. destroy plant 3. MAKE IT UNPROFITABLE FOR THEM to build again, i.e., destroy the concept of money”. Di Prima shows her disdain for industrialization by attacking one of the largest and well known chemical plants, while also showing her contempt for money and greed by attacking the monetary system.

Word Count: 666