Charisma and Counterculture: Allen Ginsberg as a Prophet for a New Generation

Abstract

Abstract:The cultural role of Allen Ginsberg does not fit a typical Weberian model of charisma. The avant-garde poet was an outstanding personality and possessed an unusual ability to affect people. He played a vital role in expanding the boundaries of personal freedom in America of the 1950s-1990s, blazing new paths for spiritual, communal and artistic expression. Serving as a father figure for the counterculture-a symbol of an alternative set of cultural norms, lifestyles and literary forms-Ginsberg was a charismatic counter-leader, with no clearly defined followers or movement. As a leader in a more liberated era, he offered energy, ideas, inspiration, and color, but no structure or authority. Instead he was a prophet of freedom, calling on people to express themselves openly, to expand and experiment. This role demanded charisma but of a different kind-one that was more spiritual and less organizational or hierarchical. This article follows Gary Dickson's essay "Charisma, Medieval and Modern," in offering a suggestive analysis of and supplement to Weber's understanding of charisma. The article grapples with the concept of charisma in relation to a generation that resented rigid structures and authorities.

The Post-Structuralist Repositioning of Allen Ginsberg’s Controversial Poem “Howl”: A Deconstructive Approach

“…Moreover, on the discussion of spirituality, Ariel (2013) argues that: Ginsberg grew up in a secular Jewish home, not committed to observance of the commandments or the studying of Jewish texts. But even this seeming spiritual void left a deep mark on Allen.…”