“Fortunately, art is a community effort – a small but select community living in a spiritualized world endeavoring to interpret the wars and the solitudes of the flesh.”

— Allan Ginsberg

In 1955, the rhythm of American culture tootled to a docile iambic pentameter, but underground, an explosive force was building: Elvis, James Dean, Jack Kerouac and others busted loose from the constraints of the ’50s gee-whiz conformity.

In that year, “Howl,” a poem written by 29-year-old “subterranian” Allen Ginsberg, jolted the establishment with its fierce and raw expression. Ironically, and prophetically, Ginsberg proclaimed that “whoever controls the media, the images, controls the culture.” Ouch.

An ensuing obscenity trial that sought to define the parameters of taste, became a landmark judgment in defense of free speech.

“Poetry is not an expression of the party line,” Ginsberg wrote. “It’s that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public. That’s what the poet does.”

In celebration of National Poetry Month, the Bainbridge branch of Kitsap Regional Library, Bainbridge Island Arts & Humanities Council and Historic Lynwood Theatre present a free screening of “HOWL,” the feature film about Ginsberg and his poetry at 5 p.m. April 17 at the Lynwood Theatre.

“HOWL” will be introduced by Bainbridge Island poets Bob McAllister and John Davis, both of whom have published new volumes of poetry recently. They will host a post-film Q&A, or more likely, a Q&Q.

“Poetry is about the joy of asking questions,” McAllister said. “There are lots of questions, but not many answers. Still it’s important to attend to the questions.”

The big questions, in this case, involve matters of taste and who gets to define it.

As Walt Whitman, one of Ginsberg’s heroes aptly wrote, “The dirtiest book of all is the expurgated book.”

“I know first-hand about that,” McAllister said. When he came to Bainbridge Island to teach, only a watered-down version of Romeo and Juliet was available to students.

“I can’t do this anymore,”  McAllister told the administration. “It’s a credit to their integrity that they listened.”

John Davis, who will co-host with McAllister, heard Ginsberg read in the 1990s in Seattle.

“He was charismatic, gregarious; He had the audience in the palm of his hand,” he said.

“The poem paved the way for the ’60s. It had a great jazz beat to it, and its title suggests pain, but it’s a poem of joy, too,” Davis said.

Starring James Franco as Ginsberg, “HOWL” weaves three threads into a psuedo-documentary: the unfolding of the landmark 1957 obscenity trial; an animated ride through the poem and a unique portrait of a man who expressed himself boldly and, in doing so, galvanized a generation.

The 90-minute film by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman is rated R for strong sexual content including language and images, and for some drug material.

For more information, visit http://howlthemovie.com/film or www.bainbridgelibrary.org.