Kaddish

by Allen Ginsberg

"Kaddish", also known as "Kaddish for Naomi Ginsberg", is a poem by Beat writer Allen Ginsberg about his mother Naomi and her death on June 9, 1956. Ginsberg began writing the poem in the Beat Hotel in Paris in December 1957 and completed it in New York in 1959. It is often considered one of Ginsberg's finest poems, with some scholars holding that it is his best poem. The title "Kaddish" refers to the mourner's prayer or blessing in Judaism. This long poem was Ginsberg's attempt to mourn his mot...