Allen Ginsberg reading Howl | Town Hall Theater, Berkeley CA | 18 March 1956 | © Walter Lehrman

Sixty years ago today, at the Town Hall Theater on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley, Allen Ginsberg read his new poem Howl in public and in full for the first time. Listen here:

Allen Ginsberg, Philip Whalen, Michael McClure, and Gary Snyder | Town Hall Theater, Berkeley CA |
18 March 1956 | © Walter Lehrman

Fun fact for locals: the Town Hall Theater, which is still standing, became the original location for Berkeley Bowl and today is home to Kirala and Sconehenge.