Allen Ginsberg

Allen Ginsberg standing on the roof of his 114th St. apartment in 1946 or 1947. Photo by "the guy who worked at the bookstore. Fat guy."

See also Wikipedia's article about "Allen Ginsberg".

Allen Ginsberg CC '48 was a gay Beat Generation poet who wrote Howl.

While at Columbia he was friends with fellow Beat writer Jack Kerouac and future historian Fritz Stern. He served as Stern's debate partner on the College Debate Council and founded the Roosevelt for President club with him in 1944. Ginsberg was to prove influential in persuading Stern to enroll in humanities classes, which caused him to rethink his intended career in medicine.