Dharma Lion: A Critical Biography of Allen Ginsberg

If one ever needed a history of the early Beats, this is it. It's more than a biography of Allen Ginsberg, as exceptional as that aspect of the book is, but using Mr. Ginsberg, the author, Michael Schumacher, presents the Beat movement in all its glory and pathos. One sees that the personae are more than names, Creative Writing exemplars, but are souls in search of their shore. Aside from Ginsberg, Kerouac, Burroughs, and Cassady, the "secondary" characters, like Gregory Corso and Carolyn Cassady, likewise are seen to be extraordinary in their own right, and even a spear carrier, like Dusty Moreland, is given a luminosity that takes one's breath away. I think it's a bit clear that I was entirely captivated - transported? - by this book. I can't recommend it highly enough.

It's been several years since I read "Dharma Lion". However, it remains for me as one of the finest and most focused journeys into the mind, soul, art and life of a truly great poet and an amazing individual. The life and times and creative genius of Allen Ginsberg will inspire many people for different reasons. First, as a poet, he blew the lid off traditional poetry in the same way Picasso turned art into an intellectual and psychological study of man and the world he has created. Ginsberg was a liberating force for all those who felt "stuck" and "frustrated" by the American "ideal" dream. Second, as one of the beat writers and the ultimate "Bohemian" in his thinking and lifestyle, Ginsberg is fascinating to read about. His travels, both inner and global, take the reader behind, beneath and beyond their wildest imagination. As I read about his adventures, I wondered how he had the energy and money to maintain his incredible journey. Third, his openness and frankness as a gay man was truly heoric and remarkable for his time. Ginsberg, like Walt Whitman, understood the beauty of the mind and the body, and celebrated himself and life through his poetry and how he lived. He fully embraced himself and life in a way that will always leave those who haven't the depth and breadth of a Ginsberg, cold and turned off to this poetic and primal celebration of the Self. Michael Schumacher not only wrote a biography about a literary giant, but filled every inch with the insights and brilliance of Ginsberg and his times. I like a slow read, one that I can savour and think about, put down and pick up again, and then continue the read with more interest and perceptiveness, not only for the subject matter but about life and myself as well. "Dharma Lion" is a biography I'll surely go back to one of these days and enjoy as much, if not more, than I did on the first read. I've recommended this book to many of my friends and I strongly recommend it to you.