（日） The Beat Trial

I really would like to stop working forever--never work again, never do anything like the kind of work I'm doing now--and do nothing but write poetry and have leisure to spend the day outdoors and go to museums and see friends. And I'd like to keep living with someone -- maybe even a man -- and explore relationships that way. And cultivate my perceptions, cultivate the visionary thing in me. Just a literary and quiet city-hermit existence.

Allen Ginsberg

On this audio clip, we hear Allen Ginsberg reading and discussing his famous poem, "Howl."

On this audio clip, we hear Allen Ginsberg debating about drugs with his father in 1971.

The Beat Trial
A one-act play.

元山　千草 Allen Ginsberg, American poet
亀澤　好乃 Mr. Turtle, the lawyer
江口 佳央理 Judge Gucci
山田　祥子 Mr. Hillfield, salesperson
村山　麻美 Ms. Murayama, NHK reporter

村山: はい、村山です。私は今サンフランシスコの裁判所の前に来ています。今日はアメリカの詩人アレンゲンズバーグ氏の公然わいせつの裁判が開かれまが、ここでいったん、ＣＭに入ります。

Mr. Hillfield: Are your windows dirty? Have you any dirt in your house? Do you feel dirty yourself? Well, America's favorite company, Quick Clean, has just the product for you. If you use Quick Clean, you will never have to clean your windows again. Yes, Quick Clean will clean your whole house. Spray it everywhere. Spray it on your bed, spray it on your car, spray it on your children. Use Quick Clean, and even your children will look and feel clean. Indeed, the whole world feels clean with Quick Clean. Try Quick Clean… we promise that you will like it. Quick Clean!　
村山: これが１９５０年代にみられる典型的なコマーシャルですね。みなさん御存じのとおり、この時代、アメリカ政府はアメリカ人に新しい日用品を買わせるために攻撃的なテレビやラジオのコマーシャルを用いて、世界にその経済力をみせつけていました。それはすべてソビエト連邦に対する闘争であり、世界中の共産主義者がアメリカの脅威であることを悟られました。無情なコマーシャルは、アメリカを強く、そして共産主義者から救う方法としてアメリカ社会に広まっていきました。家やトースター、洗剤、おもちゃ、そして特に車などといったものを買うことは愛国的なことであるとして宣伝されました。さらに、共産主義者は、あらゆる場所で政府の人間に捕まえられ、国や国民にとっての脅威だと考えられていました。たくさんの芸術家、作家、役者のような伝統に従わないライフスタイルの人々は共産主義者に間違えられ、訴えられました。政府のブラックリストに載っていたたくさんの人々はちゃんとした仕事に就けなかった自らをBeatライラーズと呼んだ人々はそのような時代背景に反対し、伝統を守る人や商業本意の人に挑戦を始めた。これらの作家は独特の表現で主流のアンチコミュニストの宣伝に反抗し、１９６０年代のたくさんの社会運動に多大な影響を与えました。彼らは韓国やベトナムの戦争に反対し、ドラッグを使い、ジャズに感化されたような表現でたくさんの異なる政治的な考えを示しました。そして、大衆向けのスピーチやユーモアを使うことにより、重要な社会的疑問を投げかけました。彼らは、田舎で同じような家に住んでいる異性愛者達を批判し、自らは気の向くまま、街から街へ移り住む生活を送っていました。詩人、アレンはそのようなビート作家の一人でした。では、アレン・ギンズバーグ被告のいる法廷に入り、ミスター・ギンズバーグに反対する弁護士の主張を聞いてみましょう。

Mr. Turtle: Are you Mr. Allen Ginsberg?
Ginsberg: Yes.
Mr. Turtle: And did you write the poem called “America,” just last year, that is, in the fall of 1956?
Mr. Ginsberg: Yes.
Mr. Turtle: Mr. Ginsberg, do you know why you have been brought here today?
Mr. Ginsberg: To read my poem?
Mr. Turtle: No!... I will do that.
Mr. Ginsberg: Why, thank you.
Mr. Turtle: Mr. Ginsberg! (Turning to the judge) Your honor, I would like to read a few lines of Mr. Ginsberg’s poem, if I may.
Judge Gucci: Go ahead.
Mr. Turtle: I would like to ask Mr. Ginsberg to explain what the words of his poem mean. I think that everyone will understand that Mr. Ginsberg is a sick man, and that his poem is dangerous and should not be read by the young people of this country.
Now, Mr. Ginsberg, in your poem “America,” you ask, “When can I go into the supermarket and buy what I need with my good looks?” May I ask you, Mr. Ginsberg, what you mean by this?
Mr. Ginsberg: I sometimes watch TV.
Mr. Turtle: Mr. Ginsberg, are you listening to me?
Mr. Ginsberg: And that’s the feeling I get. The TV commercials and programs. They are filled with beautiful people who can do anything they want. They can have anything they want. They do not work.
Mr. Turtle: Mr. Ginsberg, whom are you talking to in this poem?
Mr. Ginsberg: To the reader.
Mr. Turtle: But you keep saying, “America,” “America,” “America…”
Mr. Ginsberg: Well, I’m talking to America.
Mr. Turtle: Mr. Ginsberg, who is “America”?
Mr. Ginsberg: That’s my question. I ask that same question in the poem. Who is accepted in America?
Mr. Turtle: But Mr. Ginsberg, in the same poem, you also write, “It occurs to me that I am America.” So, does that mean that you wrote this poem to yourself?
Mr. Ginsberg: If you think that I have a place in America, then “yes” is my answer.
Mr. Turtle: I do not believe this poem has a place in America. And I think it is quite crazy to write a poem to oneself. Now, let me give another example. In the same poem, you write, “I used to be a communist when I was a kid I’m not sorry.” What do you mean by that? Are you a communist today?
Mr. Ginsberg: I think communists are interesting people. Especially American communists.
Mr. Turtle: Answer my question. Are you a communist?
Mr. Ginsberg: I am afraid that I do not know, sir. But this trial is about a poem, right? Not about communists.
Mr. Turtle: This trial is about America.
Mr. Ginsberg: Oh, good. I like that topic. I wrote a poem about it last year.
Mr. Turtle: Mr. Ginsberg. This is a serious matter.
Judge Gucci: Mr. Turtle, you are not Senator Joe McCarthy, and this is not a hunt for communists. Please discuss the poem. ★

村山: まぁ、グッチ裁判長の言い分はなんておもしろいのでしょう！１９５０年代にマッカーシーは国中の何千ものアメリカ人と政府内の共産主義者を訴えました。彼のそのような運動は国に大きな恐怖を与え、多くの人々が共産主義者だという容疑のもと、逮捕されました。アレン・ギンズバーグもまた、共産主義者なのでしょうか？引き続き彼らの主張をきいてみましょう。

(Anti-Communist Senator Joe McCarthy)

Mr. Turtle: Mr. Ginsberg, you also wrote in the same poem that “I smoke marijuana every chance I get.” Do you smoke marijuana, Mr. Ginsberg?
Mr. Ginsberg: In my poem, I do.
Mr. Turtle: Mr. Ginsberg, I am not talking about your poem.
Mr. Ginsberg: I thought that’s what we were talking about.
Mr. Turtle: I mean, in real life, do you smoke marijuana?
Mr. Ginsberg: Well, it is not illegal, is it?
Mr. Turtle: No, but it is not normal.
Mr. Ginsberg: Well, I may not be normal, Mr. Turtle.
Mr. Turtle: Your poem is definitely not normal, and that is the problem.
Mr. Ginsberg: There is no such thing as a normal poem, Mr. Turtle.
Mr. Turtle: Mr. Ginsberg! Why do you say you smoke marijuana if you don’t really smoke it?
Mr. Ginsberg: Mr. Turtle, when I write the word “I,” I do not mean “I, Allen Ginsberg.”
Mr. Turtle: Who do you mean, then?
Mr. Ginsberg: America.
Mr. Turtle: I don’t understand.
Judge Gucci: Mr. Ginsberg, please answer the questions clearly.
Mr. Turtle: You also write, “America stop pushing I know what I’m doing.” So, you are talking to America, right? And you say that America is pushing, right?
Mr. Ginsberg: Yes.
Mr. Turtle: Whom is America pushing?
Mr. Ginsberg: The greatest minds of its generation. It is pushing them out. Making them go crazy. Beating them down.
Judge Gucci: Gentlemen, this is not a political discussion group. I will ask you one more time. Please talk about the poem.
Mr. Turtle: But, your honor, this man calls himself a “Beat poet.” To understand his poem, I have to know what he means by “beat poet” or “beat writer.”
Judge Gucci: OK, go ahead.
Mr. Turtle: Explain yourself, Mr. Ginsberg. What is a “beat writer?”
Mr. Ginsberg: Beat writers are down-and-out writers. They are not wealthy and powerful, and they do not take the side of the wealthy and famous. They side with those whom society has beaten down, with the excluded. But that is only one meaning of “beat.” “Beat” also, as you know, has a religious meaning. It refers to the blessed, as in the word “beatitude.” I like this second meaning, because in a commercial society, art plays a role like that of religion. It can be a spiritual guide to young people in particular. The beat writer works alone, not in groups, and the beat writer tries to develop his own inner self and mind. ★

村山: ギンズバーグ氏が今ビートライターについての説明をしました。ビートという考え方は２つの意味を含んでいます。１つは「負かされ、疎外された」という意味、そしてもう１つは「神の恵みを受けた、モノより心に関心のある」という意味です。

Mr. Turtle: So, I am supposed to believe that this poem is written by a down-and-out but blessed American writer?
Mr. Ginsberg: I think so.
Mr. Turtle: But what good is the poem?
Mr. Ginsberg: I cannot answer that question.
Judge Gucci: Mr. Turtle, do you have no more questions?
Mr. Turtle : No, your honor.
Judge Gucci: Then I will ask the jury to decide whether Mr. Ginsberg is guilty of public indecency. (Stands and talks to the students in the audience.) I will give you five minutes. Please tell me your decision when I return. (He leaves the room.)

村山:（驚いた様子で）はぁ、これは驚きました…。グッチ裁判長は皆さんに、ギンズバーグ氏が有罪か無罪か判決を下してもらおうと思っています。ここで皆さんに４，５人のグループを作って話し合ってもらいます。そしてそれぞれのグループに有罪か無罪か１つの答えを出してもらいます。

The judge returns.

村山: そしてこの判決の前に、コマーシャルをもう１つお送りしましょう。

Mr. Hillfield: Are you worried about Communists? Do Communists live near you? Do they talk to your children? Well, America's favorite company, Quick Clean, has a new product for you. Yes, Quick Clean now has a Communist Detector. It will help you to find Communists everywhere. Just turn this dial―like this―and if there are Communists near you, this little light will become red. Use Quick Clean's new Communist Detector, and you and your whole family will be free of Communism. Indeed, the whole world will be free with Quick Clean. Try Quick Clean's Communist Detector…. we promise that you will like it. Quick Clean!
Judge Gucci: OK, if you think Mr. Ginsberg is guilty, please raise your hands. (Pause) And if you think Mr. Ginsberg is innocent, please raise your hands.
The defendant is guilty/ innocent.

The actors come to center-stage and bow.

END OF PLAY

READ ALLEN GINSBERG'S POEM "America."

HISTORICAL TRIAL: What was the consequence of the real trial?

The main reason the poem was attacked is that it contained strong language. Today, strong language is used everywhere--in poetry, in books, in movies. However, the 1950s were very different from today. As this article explains, the fact that the editor of "Howl" was proclaimed innocent meant that other books could use "dirty words" and not be confiscated. The victory of "Howl" was a victory for the freedom to use many kinds of English. It also made "Howl" and the City Lights bookstore (where it was sold) very popular.

As Allen Ginsberg said (in the interview linked to above):

"It (the poem) got to be well known... because it was of some real sincerity and quality, and it was a genuine person writing about genuine life. And then the police were trying to ban genuine life, so it just turned into, like, a cause célèbre."

Question: What do you think Ginsberg means by the expression "a genuine life."

The Beat Period, Yoshino Kamesawa

.The United States faught against Soviet and world communism.

.Women and blacks had gotten many jobs during World War II, but many lost their jobs after the war was over because there wasn't much need for weapons and arms.

.The U.S. government needed a lot of money to win the space race after the Soviets took the lead by being the first to go around the Earth in space (in "Sputnik").

.The U.S. government realized the power of TV to strengthen its consumerist society. They began to use TV to make people want to buy many things. As the result, the economy continued to grow after the war, and the TV had a very big influence on the culture generally.

.While material wealth increased, there were others who prefered spiritural and intellectual power. Some of these writers became known as "Beat writers."

A Culture of Containment, Chigusa Motoyama

What is the "Beat" Generation and what is a "Beatnik"?

After World War II, life in America was infested with a Culture of Containment (封じ込めの文化). Exemplified best by McCarthyism, there was a containment of communism and a explosion of consumerism (消費主義). Men went off to work, and women were contained in their houses. People who didn't adapt to American society ware contained in mental hospitals or prisons. It seemed like everyone else would have a job, security, and happiness.

A few writers at the time, however, found that such a society was too restrictive. The small group of writers threw away the rich American life to create a greater sense of being alive. In objecting to the conservative society, many of them listened to jazz, had goatees, and approved of drugs, alcohol, free sex, and homosexuality. Allen Ginsberg, the author of the poem "Howl," Jack Kerouac, and William S. Burroughs were the nucleus of the group. They called themselves the "Beat Generation."

The word "beat" has two meanings. On one hand, "beat" has negative meanings like "having been cheated or defeated," and "having no money." On the other hand, "beat" has a positive meaning, as in the similar, religious words "beatitude" and "beatific." So they thought of themselves as people who, although they were cheated and excluded from mainstream society, were nonetheless more spiritually alive then most people. In this sense, they were blessed with a life much richer than that of rich and thoughtless Americans.

People who thought that the beat generation was a serious threat to American society often called them "beatnik" after the name of a Soviet Union satellite called "Sputnik." The beat writers didn't like to be called "beatnik" because they saw it as a cheap stereotype. Beat literature is part of American culture, too, and they felt that their role in America was important. You may think that they are strange, dirty, and incomprehensible, but I don't think the beats had only a bad influence on American society. They warned Americans not to let their freedoms be taken away.

About Allen Ginsberg, Mami Murayama

Allen Ginsberg (June 3,1926-April 5,1997) was an American poet. He is known as a beat writer. His father was a highschool teacher and a poet. He was a Jewish immigrant from Russia. Allen Ginsberg's mother was also an immigrant from Russia. She suffered from a mental disease.

Allen entered Columbia University. He was going to become a college professor or lawyer in accordance with his father's wish, but he came under the influence of friends who later became representatives of the Beat Generation. Once, he wrote some strong language on the University dormitory's wall.Because of it, he was thrown out of Columbia University.

He returned to school but left again after only three weeks.

When he was 30, his mother died. After that, he received the doctor's diagnosis. The doctor said to Allen, "Be yourself". These two events were an opportunity for him to write poems.

He announced "HOWL" in poetry reading that was held in San Francisco. This influenced many people and was spoken of very highly. It was the start for Allen Ginsberg as a poet.

He wanderded around America and Africa, reading his poems. He participated in pacifism, anti-nuclear power plant demonstrations, gay pride demonstrations, and demonstrations to protect the coral reefs in Shiraho, Japan.

He was killed by liver cancer in his apartment in New York at the age of 71. Before he died, he wrote "Death and Fame," which was read at his funeral.