The Howl Festival (sometimes styled Howl! Festival or HOWL! Festival) was an event that took place in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

Tompkins Square Park Tompkins Square Park is a public park in the Alphabet City, Manhattan, Alphabet City portion of East Village, Manhattan, East Village, Manhattan, New York City. The square-shaped park, bounded on the north by 10th Street (Manhattan), East 10th ...

. It was founded in 2003 and held each spring through 2013 as a celebration of the arts history of the East Village and the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

. It was named for and inspired by

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

's poem ''

Howl and Other Poems ''Howl and Other Poems'' is a collection of poetry by Allen Ginsberg published November 1, 1956. It contains Ginsberg's most famous poem, "Howl", which is considered to be one of the principal works of the Beat Generation as well as " A Supermar ...

'' and the Festival honors Ginsberg. From 2004-2006, the managing director was Greg Fuchs. The 2014 Festival was postponed indefinitely due to issues surrounding the permits for and use of the Park. Howl Arts Inc., an arts organization with a permanent location in the East Village, emerged in part from the Howl Festival. Its work includes carrying forward some of the programming that was formerly a part of the Howl Festival, including an annual celebration marking Allen Ginsberg's birthdayHappy Birthday Allen Ginsberg! - Howl! Arts
/ref> among other programs that celebrate the cultural history of the East Village and Lower East Side.

References

{{reflist

External links

howlfestival.com
Festivals in New York City Tompkins Square Park East Village, Manhattan