Kaddish is a poem by Beat writer Allen Ginsberg about the death of his mother, Naomi, in 1956. It was begun in the Beat Hotel in Paris in December 1957 and completed in New York in 1959. The poem was published as the lead in the collection Kaddish and Other Poems 1958-1960 (Pg.1, Kaddish, and Other Poems 1958-1960, by Allen Ginsberg. City Lights Books, San Francisco, 1961. http:www//questia.com). It is often considered one of Ginsberg's finest po...
more
Kaddish is a poem by Beat writer Allen Ginsberg about the death of his mother, Naomi, in 1956. It was begun in the Beat Hotel in Paris in December 1957 and completed in New York in 1959. The poem was published as the lead in the collection Kaddish and Other Poems 1958-1960 (Pg.1, Kaddish, and Other Poems 1958-1960, by Allen Ginsberg. City Lights Books, San Francisco, 1961. http:www//questia.com). It is often considered one of Ginsberg's finest poems; some scholars hold that it is his best.
The title Kaddish refers to the mourner's prayer or blessing in Judaism. This long poem was Ginsberg's attempt to mourn his mother, Naomi, but also reflects his sense of loss at his estrangement from his born religion. The traditional Kaddish contains no references to death, whereas Ginsberg's poem is riddled with thoughts and questionings of death.
Ginsberg wrote a screenplay based on the poem. Robert Frank was to direct it, but money could not be raised for the project. In 1972, Robert Kalfin...
less
