LOS ANGELES, CA.- An Allen Ginsberg letter, in which he commented on the failure of communism, will be auctioned by Nate D. Sanders on April 29. Interested bidders may participate in the auction online.

Ginsberg wrote the letter to fellow beat generation poet Diane di Prima in 1981, after spending several months traveling in Europe. The letter is handwritten by Ginsberg on the back of a Swiss Alps postcard. He wrote, “Peter & I are back from couple months...Hungary-Austria-Switzerland-Germany-made little money but saw a lot - Red Lands not good, Hungary pretty dreary bureaucracy - I guess communism just doesn't work. Socialist Austria seems pretty free & independent minded. Lots of yakking & snow & ice & cold & Poetry & movies...Love Allen.''

Ginsberg often talked about his intimate connections with communism and his admiration for communist political figures including Fidel Castro. In his 1956 book, America, he wrote, “I used to be a communist when I was a kid I'm not sorry.” Ginsberg traveled to many communist nations to promote free speech.

The letter references Ginsberg’s travel with his life-long partner Peter Orlovsky, an actor and poet. The recipient of the letter, Diane Di Prima, taught poetry at Naropa University’s Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, which she co-founded with Ginsberg. Ginsberg died in 1997 at the age of 70 in New York City.

Bidding for the letter begins at $250.

Additional information on the Ginsberg postcard can be found here .