Allen Ginsberg published the poetry collection Kaddish and Other Poems in 1961. The volume is best known for its title poem, “Kaddish,” an extended elegy for Ginsberg’s mother, Naomi Ginsberg.
“Kaddish” draws on the Jewish mourning prayer while also incorporating family history, mental illness, hospitalization, memory, and the difficult relationship between mother and son. Its length and emotional intensity make it one of Ginsberg’s major works, distinct from the more public and generational focus of “Howl.”
The collection appeared after Ginsberg had already become widely known through Howl and Other Poems. Readers sometimes place “Kaddish” in 1956 because of the fame and chronology of Howl, but the separate collection Kaddish and Other Poems was published in 1961.
The book’s title also reflects the way Ginsberg connected private experience with religious and cultural tradition. His work often joined intimate autobiography to broader historical, political, and spiritual questions, a combination that helped define his place in postwar American poetry.