April 26, 2002 Materials composed by Allen Ginsberg from 1943, the year of his enrollment at Columbia, through the publication of "Kaddish" in 1961 will be on display from May 3 through August 2, 2002 in the West Gallery of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Butler Library, 6th Floor, East, Columbia University.

Highlights include early poetic manuscripts in letters from Ginsberg to Lionel Trilling, a typescript of "Howl" that Ginsberg sent to Lucien Carr, and a copy of the mimeographed first edition of "Howl" that he sent to Mark Van Doren. Also in the exhibit are photographs and artists' renderings of Allen Ginsberg, various unique documents from the publication history of Empty Mirror, and early poems and reviews published in Columbia Jester and Columbia Review.

This exhibit will focus on material composed by Allen Ginsberg beginning with his enrollment at Columbia in 1943 through the publication of "Kaddish" in 1961. The emphasis will be on Ginsberg's poetic development, in the context of his interactions with mentors, family, friends, and critics during that period.

"It is little known how much Allen Ginsberg's poetry and artistic taste grew from his Columbia experience, and the guidance and encouragement of his teachers in those early years," said Allen Tobias (Columbia College '64) a writer and teacher who was a secretary to Allen Ginsberg in the late nineteen sixties. Mr. Tobias is currently working on a literary biography of Allen Ginsberg's early years.

"The Lion for Real" is co-curated by Mr. Tobias and by Columbia Librarians Jennifer Lee, Public Services and Programs, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, and John Tofanelli, Anglo-American Bibliographer. Materials displayed will be from the collections of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library and the personal collection of Mr. Tobias.

"The Lion for Real" will be on display May 3 through August 2, 2002 in the West Gallery of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Butler Library, 6th Floor, East, Columbia University at 535 West 114th Street and Broadway, New York.

The library is open Monday, 12:00 - 7:45 P.M.; Tuesday - Friday, 9:00 - 4:45 P.M. through Friday, May 17. Beginning Monday, May 20, the hours are Monday, 12:00 - 4:45 P.M.; Tuesday - Friday, 9:00 - 4:45 P.M.

The Rare Book and Manuscript Library is home to over 600,000 rare books, 28 million manuscripts filed in 3,000 separate collections, 75,000 photographs, and 40,000 prints and watercolors. In addition to printed and manuscript resources, the library contains cuneiform tablets, papyri, maps, works of art, posters, sound recordings and other interesting objects and materials. The library's web site is: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/rmbl/

For more information:

Jennifer Lee
Public Services and Programs
Rare Books and Manuscript Library
(212) 854-4058

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04/29/2002