Allen Ginsberg

In 1954, Ginsberg met his life partner Peter Orlovsky in San Francisco. Orlovsky, who was then 21, remained with Ginsberg until his death 43 years later. They both shared an interest in Tibetan Buddhism, and Orlovsky later himself developed into a published poet.

In 1965 he was deported from Cuba for publicly protesting against the country's anti-marijuana stance and its homophobic social polices that result in many homosexuals being jailed. He also outraged Fidel Castro and his cadre of "Fidelistas" by allegedly making the remark that Ernesto 'Che' Guevara was "cute." The Cubans deported him to Czechoslovakia, where one week after being named the King of May Day parade, the Czech communist government labeled him an "immoral menace" and deported him. Playright and future Czech President Václav Havel credits Ginsberg with being an important figure inspiring their desire for freedom.

Was part of the chorus (including Tom Smothers, Timothy Leary, Norman Mailer, and the local Hare Krishna chapter) who sang on 1969's "Give Peace A Chance" with John Lennon and Yoko Ono during their "bed-in" in Montreal. Spent time later with Lennon and Ono when they moved to New York, and were involved with radicals Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin; they tended to side with Ginsberg when he opposed Hoffman and Rubin's wilder suggestions.

Won a National Book Award in 1974 for his poetry collection "The Fall of America: Poems of these States, 1965-1971."

Impersonates the voice of Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) from Taxi Driver (1976) in The Clash song "Red Angel Dragnet" on their 1982 "Combat Rock" album.

Admired Mikhail Vartanov's Parajanov: The Last Spring (1992).

Biography in: "American National Biography." Supplement 1, pp. 230-232. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Is portrayed by David Cross in I'm Not There (2007).

He was nominated for the 2011 New Jersey Hall of Fame for his services and contributions to Literature. He was awarded the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. He was also inducted into the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.