Ginsberg was born in Newark, New Jersey to Louis and Naomi Ginsberg and was the brother of Eugene. Louis Ginsberg was a high school teacher and poet and Naomi was a mentally ill Marxist (Ginsberg reads “Howl” for the first time). For years, Eugene and Allen grew up in the shadow of their mother's mental illness; Allen Ginsberg incorporates these experiences into his poem Howl and other poems. Ginsberg was greatly influenced by his father when it came to the poetry scene and grew up reciting famous poems.