Allen Ginsberg

The first public reading of Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" took place at San Francisco's Six Gallery in October 1955, but that performance wasn't recorded.  It was long believed that the first recorded reading was in March 1956 in Berkeley, California, but that turned out not to be the case.  On February 13 and 14, 1956, Ginsberg and Gary Snyder read at Reed College in Portland, Oregon.  In 2007, author John Suiter made a remarkable discovery at Reed's Hauser Memorial Library: the Valentine's Day reading had been recorded.  Now, Omnivore is bringing that seminal recording to light.  Michael Graves has restored and mastered this release from that original tape which includes shorter selections as well as most of Part I of "Howl" and a taste of Part II, after which Ginsberg concluded, "I don't really feel like reading any more; I haven't got any kind of steam.  So I'd like to cut, do you mind?" A landmark release, At Reed College: The First Recorded Reading of Howl and Other Poems will arrive on CD, black vinyl, and digital platforms.