--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never saw [Allen Ginsberg] as some kind…" description: "\"I never saw [Allen Ginsberg] as some kind of crazy figure.\" — Ai Weiwei" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b0/ai-weiwei-824_crazy_i-never-saw-allen-ginsberg-as-some-kind_2332293.png" --- # I never saw \[Allen Ginsberg\] as some kind of crazy figure. ![“I never saw [Allen Ginsberg] as some kind of crazy figure.” quote by Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b0/ai-weiwei-824_crazy_i-never-saw-allen-ginsberg-as-some-kind_2332293.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b0/ai-weiwei-824_crazy_i-never-saw-allen-ginsberg-as-some-kind_2332293.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b0/ai-weiwei-824_crazy_i-never-saw-allen-ginsberg-as-some-kind_2332293.png) > “I never saw \[Allen Ginsberg\] as some kind of crazy figure.” [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ai Weiwei sees Allen Ginsberg as a normal person, not a bizarre eccentric. **In simple terms:** Ginsberg is portrayed as ordinary. Key Takeaway Recognize humanity in iconic figures. Themes perception humanity celebrity Mood thoughtful analytical Type reflective observational When to use this quote - art criticism - literary analysis - public discourse Key Concepts psychology social perception Questions to Reflect On - How does myth-making affect our view of artists? - What can we learn by seeing icons as ordinary? A Different Perspective Famous individuals may be mythologized, obscuring their real traits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allen-ginsberg/) [Crazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crazy/) [Figures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/figures/) [Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ginsberg/) [Ginsberg Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ginsberg-kind-5613780/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Kind Crazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind-crazy-364016/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Saws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saws/) ## Related quotes > [I never really read Allen Ginsberg poetry, even though I have a book he gave me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-never-really-read-allen-ginsberg-poetry-even-though-i-have-a-book/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [ I saw \[Allen Ginsberg\] more as an old man who liked poetry and who had a lot of physical and emotional problems. We liked… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-saw-allen-ginsberg-more-as-an-old-man-who-liked-poetry-and-who-had/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [ I think Allen \[Ginsberg\] was a person who's like a child. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-think-allen-ginsberg-was-a-person-who-s-like-a-child/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I never did know exactly what was meant by the term "The Beats," but let's say that the original meeting, association, comradeship of Allen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-snyder/i-never-did-know-exactly-what-was-meant-by-the-term-the-beats-but-let/) [Gary Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-snyder/) > [Allen Ginsberg is a tremendous warrior as time goes by. He's a warrior first and a poet second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/allen-ginsberg-is-a-tremendous-warrior-as-time-goes-by-he-s-a-warrior/) [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) > [“Leo a Casavella, que es mi contemporáneo. Leo a Grace Morales, que es mi contemporáneo. Leo Allen Ginsberg, que es mi contemporáneo. Leo a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javier-p-rez-and-jar/leo-a-casavella-que-es-mi-contempor-neo-leo-a-grace-morales-que-es-mi/) [Javier Pérez Andújar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javier-p-rez-and-jar/) > [ Allen \[ Ginsberg\] was a particular friend, one of my heroes, really. I knew him almost as long as I've been writing. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/allen-ginsberg-was-a-particular-friend-one-of-my-heroes-really-i-knew/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“Allen Ginsberg startled the audience at OutWrite, the gay literary conference, when he confessed he didn’t worry about AIDS since his sex life consisted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bram/allen-ginsberg-startled-the-audience-at-outwrite-the-gay-literary/) [Christopher Bram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bram/) > [ \[Polythene Pam\] was me, remembering a little event with a woman in Jersey, and a man who was England's answer to Allen Ginsberg, who… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/polythene-pam-was-me-remembering-a-little-event-with-a-woman-in/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [“If I were stranded in the woods with nothing to eat but nuts, berries, and the complete works of Allen Ginsberg, I’d eat the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/if-i-were-stranded-in-the-woods-with-nothing-to-eat-but-nuts-berries/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [My last bedside conversation in the hospital just a few weeks before Allen Ginsberg died was 'please take care of so and so. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/my-last-bedside-conversation-in-the-hospital-just-a-few-weeks-before/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [“The Beat Generation, that was a vision that we had, John Clellon Holmes and I, and Allen Ginsberg in an even wilder way, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/the-beat-generation-that-was-a-vision-that-we-had-john-clellon-holmes-2/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [If I had a soul I sold it for pretty words If I had a body I used it up spurting my essence Allen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/if-i-had-a-soul-i-sold-it-for-pretty-words-if-i-had-a-body-i-used-it/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [“Between the whiskers scraggling down his neck and the now-crooked glasses, he could have been the Black Allen Ginsberg.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/between-the-whiskers-scraggling-down-his-neck-and-the-now-crooked/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [The Beat Generation, that was a vision that we had, John Clellon Holmes and I, and Allen Ginsberg in an even wilder way, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/the-beat-generation-that-was-a-vision-that-we-had-john-clellon-holmes/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) ## More by Ai Weiwei > [I'm totally independent. I don't bear any responsibility to any system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-m-totally-independent-i-don-t-bear-any-responsibility-to-any-system/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [If my art has nothing to do with people's pain and sorrow, what is 'art' for?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/if-my-art-has-nothing-to-do-with-people-s-pain-and-sorrow-what-is-art/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Police in China can do whatever they want; after 81 days in arbitrary detention you clearly realise that they don't have to obey their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/police-in-china-can-do-whatever-they-want-after-81-days-in-arbitrary/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [China has a rich history that has spanned millennia. 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I accepted Herzog and De Meuron's invitation to collaborate on the design, and our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-see-the-beijing-national-stadium-as-an-architectural-project-i/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [ I curated this show \[Shanghai Biennale \], I was by no means trying to shock people or be controversial. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-curated-this-show-shanghai-biennale-i-was-by-no-means-trying-to/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I think we cannot have a double standard. We cannot see our art as different from the reality. We cannot use two different sets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-think-we-cannot-have-a-double-standard-we-cannot-see-our-art-as/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [It doesn't matter where I am - China will stay in me. I don't know how far I can still walk on this road…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/it-doesn-t-matter-where-i-am-china-will-stay-in-me-i-don-t-know-how/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Chinese citizens have never had the right to really express their opinions; in the constitution it says you can, but in the real world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/chinese-citizens-have-never-had-the-right-to-really-express-their/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Your own acts tell the world who you are and what kind of society you think it should be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/your-own-acts-tell-the-world-who-you-are-and-what-kind-of-society-you/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Our lives are bound by physical limits, familial ties, political conditions, and geographical restrictions. 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