Corso, Gregory

Gregory Corso, 1930-, one of the original Beat poets, was born to Italian parents in Greenwich Village. His mother returned to Italy shortly after his birth, and he spent his first thirteen years living in various orphanages, foster homes, and reform schools. At thirteen he began living on the streets, sleeping in subway stations, and resorting to petty thievery to eat. At sixteen he participated in an organized robbery which netted $21,000, was caught, and sentenced to three years in Clinton State Prison.

Corso used his time in prison to good advantage, reading the better part of the prison library and studying a 1905 English dictionary inherited from a fellow prisoner. It was in the prison library that he discovered Shelley and developed a life-long enthusiasm for the poet. It was during these years in prison that he began to write.

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