--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think Allen [Ginsberg] was a person…" description: "\"I think Allen [Ginsberg] was a person who's like a child.\" — Ai Weiwei" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fa/ai-weiwei-824_child_i-think-allen-ginsberg-was-a-person-who_350933.png" --- # I think Allen \[Ginsberg\] was a person who's like a child. ![“I think Allen [Ginsberg] was a person who's like a child.” quote by Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fa/ai-weiwei-824_child_i-think-allen-ginsberg-was-a-person-who_350933.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fa/ai-weiwei-824_child_i-think-allen-ginsberg-was-a-person-who_350933.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fa/ai-weiwei-824_child_i-think-allen-ginsberg-was-a-person-who_350933.png) > “I think Allen \[Ginsberg\] was a person who's like a child.” [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. The speaker sees Ginsberg as childlike, implying innocence and wonder in his perspective. **In simple terms:** Ginsberg is likened to a child. Key Takeaway Embrace curiosity and openness. Themes innocence creativity perspective Mood thoughtful contemplative Type analytical reflective When to use this quote - literary criticism - personal reflection - art analysis Key Concepts childlike wonder artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - How does childlike wonder affect artistic creation? - Can innocence coexist with serious critique? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify Ginsberg's complex adult themes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [ I never saw \[Allen Ginsberg\] as some kind of crazy figure. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-never-saw-allen-ginsberg-as-some-kind-of-crazy-figure/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [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 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 > [ 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. It consists of the histories of many nations and regions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/china-has-a-rich-history-that-has-spanned-millennia-it-consists-of/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [This world should be much more open and should be much more free, so the young people would have the chance to exercise the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/this-world-should-be-much-more-open-and-should-be-much-more-free-so/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [By participating in the society we live in, we understand our conditions and the way we relate to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/by-participating-in-the-society-we-live-in-we-understand-our/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I see the Beijing National Stadium as an architectural project. 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. Individual freedom takes us beyond them all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/our-lives-are-bound-by-physical-limits-familial-ties-political/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Now I've come to such a mixed culture: America, Europe, South America, Africa. And the politics are changing everywhere all the time and becoming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/now-i-ve-come-to-such-a-mixed-culture-america-europe-south-america/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I don't think it's worth discussing new directions in the context of Chinese art - there were no old directions, either. Chinese art has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-don-t-think-it-s-worth-discussing-new-directions-in-the-context-of/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) [Explore all 359 Ai Weiwei quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) ## More Child quotes > [The thing about hitting kids is, think about if you were doing the same thing to another adult. Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? 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Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-lyonne/i-would-have-done-well-as-a-gypsy-child-i-think-a-circus-baby-i/) [Natasha Lyonne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-lyonne/) > [We're raising children who have little tolerance for disappointment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/we-re-raising-children-who-have-little-tolerance-for-disappointment/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [I'm a weirdo and an only child. 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