Iron Horse (poem)

Iron Horse (poem)

Iron Horse is a poem written by Allen Ginsberg. It is an important part of his "" sequence of poems written in the mid to late sixties. Iron Horse was published as a booklet in 1974 by City Lights.

Content

The first part of "Iron Horse" was composed July 22, 1966, as Ginsberg rode a train from the West Coast to Chicago. It was initially dictated to tape and later transcribed. The second part of the poem takes place on a Greyhound bus.

The poem is typified by its fluctuating observations, and uses many of the same devises and expressions found in other poems in "The Fall of America".

Some of the topics Ginsberg touches upon in the poem include: a group of soldiers riding the train some of them probably on their way to Vietnam and their mentality; a nostalgic feeling for his past and youth, ruminations on his own public persona, entertaining the thought of retiring to some solitary life; current events, headlines, conversations (overheard or imaginary) taking place on the train, and sights; both on and off the train.

Notes

*Schumacher, Michael. (1992) "Dharma Lion". St. Martins Press, New York. ISBN 0-312-11263-7


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Iron horse — may refer to: * A train or locomotive * Iron Horse, a worldwide network of FLR 9 antennas used for SIGINT purposes during the Cold War * The Iron Horse , a nickname for Lou Gehrig, the baseball player * The Iron Horse (film), a silent movie from… …   Wikipedia

  • Iron in folklore — Iron has a long and varied tradition in the mythology and folklore of the world. As human blood smells of the iron which its cells contain, and blood in many traditions is equated with the life force, so iron and minerals have been considered to… …   Wikipedia

  • The Ballad of the White Horse — is a poem by G K Chesterton about the idealized exploits of the Saxon King Alfred the Great, published in 1911 AD. Written in ballad form, the work is usually considered an epic poem. The poem narrates how Alfred was able to defeat the invading… …   Wikipedia

  • Tam o' Shanter (Burns poem) — Tam o Shanter is considered to be one of Robert Burns finest poems. It was written in 1790, and at about six A4 pages is one of his longest. The poem, first published in 1791, uses a mixture of Scots and English.Many consider it one of the best… …   Wikipedia

  • Cimmeria (poem) — This article is about a poem. For the protagonist and principal character, see Conan the Cimmerian (disambiguation). Cimmeria is a poem by Robert E. Howard about the fictional country Cimmeria, created by Howard as part of his Hyborian world… …   Wikipedia

  • Conan (Dark Horse Comics) — Conan A double panel from issue #0 The Legend Publication information Publisher Dark Horse Comics …   Wikipedia

  • Traveller (horse) — Traveller (1857 ndash; 1871) was Confederate General Robert E. Lee s most famous horse during the American Civil War.Birth and war serviceTraveller (birth name Jeff Davis) was born near the Blue Sulphur Springs, in Greenbrier County, Virginia… …   Wikipedia

  • Uffington White Horse — Infobox Mountain Name = Whitehorse Hill Photo = White horse from air.jpg Caption = The White Horse as seen from an altitude of 700 metres Elevation = 261 m (856 ft) Location = Oxfordshire, England Range = Prominence = 79 m Coordinates =… …   Wikipedia

  • Cold iron — is a poetic and archaic term for iron, referring to the fact that it feels cold to the touch. In modern usage the term has been most associated with folkloric beliefs that iron could ward off ghosts, fairies, witches, and/or other malevolent… …   Wikipedia

  • Fall of America: Poems of These States, 1965–1971, The — by Allen Ginsberg (1972)    A major volume of “road” poems, The Fall of America won the prestigious National Book Award for Poetry in 1973. Conceptually, it is allen ginsberg’s most ambitious full length book of poems. The book was composed as a… …   Encyclopedia of Beat Literature

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”