Ginsberg, Corso & Duncan, Original Program for 1956 Poetry Reading

Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997). Gregory Corso (1930-2001). Typed program, "Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso reading from their work", 2pp, 8.5" x 11", San Francisco, CA, October 21, 1956. Two staples at left margin. Flattened folds, minor creases, toning. Text at central horizontal fold has lightened, but is still completely legible. In overall near fine condition.

The poetry reading was held at the San Francisco State University Poetry Center. This original program was written entirely by fellow poet Robert Duncan (1919-1988), who shortly before this event, was appointed assistant director of the center. His introduction begins with a debate on who the greatest poet is. He mentions many, but ultimately, Duncan extols the work of both Ginsberg and Corso, describing the reading as "a historic event".

This was Corso's first public reading. Despite a large and expectant crowd of more than 500 people, Ginsberg did not read from Howl that evening, much to their disappointment. Ginsberg and Corso were anxious to get on the road, as they were hitchhiking south on their way to Mexico to meet up with Jack Kerouac, but had an important stop in Los Angeles. There the pair had a reading scheduled for October 30th, sponsored by the literary magazine, Coastlines. This small reading, held in a boarding house, would become one of Ginsberg’s most famous, second only to the Six Gallery reading in terms of notoriety, where he presented Howl for the first time.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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