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

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...

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Main Author: Yaakov Ariel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2013-01-01
Series:Religions
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/4/1/51
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author Yaakov Ariel
author_facet Yaakov Ariel
author_sort Yaakov Ariel
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description 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.
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spelling doaj.art-2c1ea6212d404b868caae911b4c52fdc2022-12-21T23:52:14ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442013-01-0141516610.3390/rel4010051rel4010051Charisma and Counterculture: Allen Ginsberg as a Prophet for a New GenerationYaakov Ariel0Department of Religious Studies, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USAThe 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.http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/4/1/51Allen GinsbergNaomi GinsbergJack KerouacPeter OrlovskyBeat GenerationcountercultureJewishHowlKaddishBuddhism
spellingShingle Yaakov Ariel
Charisma and Counterculture: Allen Ginsberg as a Prophet for a New Generation
Religions
Allen Ginsberg
Naomi Ginsberg
Jack Kerouac
Peter Orlovsky
Beat Generation
counterculture
Jewish
Howl
Kaddish
Buddhism
title Charisma and Counterculture: Allen Ginsberg as a Prophet for a New Generation
title_full Charisma and Counterculture: Allen Ginsberg as a Prophet for a New Generation
title_fullStr Charisma and Counterculture: Allen Ginsberg as a Prophet for a New Generation
title_full_unstemmed Charisma and Counterculture: Allen Ginsberg as a Prophet for a New Generation
title_short Charisma and Counterculture: Allen Ginsberg as a Prophet for a New Generation
title_sort charisma and counterculture allen ginsberg as a prophet for a new generation
topic Allen Ginsberg
Naomi Ginsberg
Jack Kerouac
Peter Orlovsky
Beat Generation
counterculture
Jewish
Howl
Kaddish
Buddhism
url http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/4/1/51
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