Flower power was a slogan used during the late 1960s and early 1970s as a symbol of passive resistance and nonviolence.[1] It is rooted in the opposition movement to the Vietnam War.[2] The expression was coined by the American Beat poet Allen Ginsberg in 1965 as a means to transform war protests into peaceful affirmative spectacles.[3][4][5] Hippies embraced the symbolism by dressing in clothing with embroidered flowers and vibrant colors, wearing flowers in their hair, and distributing flowers to the public, becoming known as flower children.[6] The term later became generalized as a modern reference to the hippie movement and the so-called counterculture of drugs, psychedelic music, psychedelic art and social permissiveness.[7]
- ^ Stuart Hall, "The Hippies: An American Moment" published in Ann Gray (Ed.), CCCS Selected Working Papers, Routledge, (December 20, 2007), p.155 ISBN 0-415-32441-6
- ^ Chatarji, Subarno, Memories of a Lost War: American Poetic Responses to the Vietnam War, Oxford University Press, 2001, p.42 ISBN 0-19-924711-0
- ^ "Allen Ginsburg", American Masters, Public Broadcasting System, pbs.org, retrieved 30-04-2009
- ^ "Guide to the Allen Ginsberg Papers: Biography/Administrative History" (PDF). The Online Archive of California. Stanford University. 1997. p. 3. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
- ^ Tony Perry, "Poet Allen Ginsberg Dies at 70", Los Angeles Times, April 06, 1997
- ^ Rennay Craats, History of the 1960s, Weigl Publishers Inc., 2001, p.36 ISBN 1-930954-29-8
- ^ Heilig, S., "The Brotherhood of Eternal Love-From Flower Power to Hippie Mafia: The Story of LSD Counterculture", Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2007, Vol 39; No 3, pages 307-308