/lit/ - Literature

Hey, this is my first time posting here. I was driven to do so by Ginsberg's pile of word vomit.

Maybe I'm a philistine, maybe I just don't get it, but the entire message of Howl seemed so contradictory. Consumerism and conformity force people to lead empty, meaningless lives and so the "greatest minds of his generation" fight back by having lots of empty, meaningless sex, going on a lot of empty, meaningless drug trips, and eventually dying empty, meaningless deaths from suicide or overdose.

Can someone help me see any worth in this poem? I've been reading analyses which go on and on about how brave and groundbreaking Howl was, but I just don't see it and could use some help.