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Allen Ginsberg’s Guest Lecture

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Nathan Urban (A&S ’98G):

One night, while I was studying for a math or physics course in the Honors College, I began talking to a fellow student, Karl Parker, who I think was an English/poetry major. As we were talking, Karl invited me go with him to his class that evening (a class in which I was not enrolled). Little did I know that his class that night featured a guest lecture by Allen Ginsberg (yes, that Allen Ginsberg), singing a new poem while playing a small musical instrument (possibly an accordion or a harmonium). This was a remarkable experience that arose spontaneously because of a chance conversation with a friend in the wonderful and eclectic environment of the Honors College.