By: HISTORY.com Editors
U.S. Customs seizes copies of Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl”
On March 25, 1957, the U.S. Customs Department in San Francisco confiscates 520 copies of Allen Ginsberg’s book Howl and Other Poems, which had been printed in England. Officials allege that the book, and particularly its titular poem, is obscene.
After the federal government stopped pursuing the case, San Francisco authorities took matters into their own hands. City Lights, a local bookstore and publishing company owned by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, published Howl in the fall of 1956. The publication led to Ferlinghetti’s arrest on obscenity charges in June 1957. Ferlinghetti was bailed out by the American Civil Liberties Union, which led his legal defense. Nine literary experts testified at the trial that the poem was not obscene, and Ferlinghetti was found not guilty.
What Is the ACLU?
Learn about what the ACLU stands for, its history and founders, and some of the biggest cases it has represented. Dive into the Scopes Monkey Trial, Brown v. Board of Education and Obergefell v. Hodges, which led to legalizing same sex marriage.
Howl, which created a metaphorical earthquake among the literary community when Ginsberg first read the poem in 1955, still stands as an important monument to the countercultural fervor of the late 1950s and ’60s. Ginsberg stayed at the forefront of numerous liberal movements throughout his life and became a well-loved lecturer at universities around the country. He continued to write and read poetry until his death from liver cancer in 1997.
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Citation Information
- Article Title
- U.S. Customs seizes copies of Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl”
- Author
- HISTORY.com Editors
- Website Name
- History
- Date Accessed
- October 21, 2026
- Publisher
- A&E Television Networks
- Last Updated
- October 02, 2026
- Original Published Date
- November 13, 2009
