Who is Lawrence Ferlinghetti?

Lawrence Ferlinghetti

A poet, publisher, painter, and political activist, he was the co-founder of the iconic City Lights bookstore in San Francisco, California. He passed away on February 22, 2021, at his home, at the age of 101.

"San Francisco's first poet"

Ferlinghetti was born in 1919 in Yonkers, New York. His father died before he was born, and his mother was being treated in a psychiatric hospital; he was raised by his aunt. When he was seven years old, his aunt, who was then a governess for a wealthy family in Bronxville, suddenly left, abandoning Ferlinghetti to his employers. After attending college in North Carolina, he became a reporter in 1941 and then joined the United States Navy during World War II.

After completing his doctoral studies in Paris, France, he returned to the United States in 1951 and began a new life in California. “There’s something Mediterranean about San Francisco,” he told the New York Times. “I feel it’s a little bit Dublin, back when Joyce lived there. You can walk down Sackville Street and run into all sorts of acquaintances within a few steps.”

In 1953, he co-founded the bookstore and publishing company City Lights (his co-founder, Dean Martin, left shortly after), with a mission to democratize literature and make it accessible to everyone. “We were all young and reckless back then,” he told The Guardian, “and poor.”

At that time, while most bookstores across the United States closed early and even on weekends, City Lights was the opposite. The bookstore was open seven days a week and stayed open late into the night, nurturing a community of readers of Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg (two prominent authors of...).Beat Generation- The "Beat Generation" - these were people who grew up in the post-World War II era, writing works that championed the freedom to experience sexuality, hallucinations, meditation, etc.; rebelling against societal norms, standards, and conservatism. City Lights initially focused on selling paperback books - a cheap type of book not valued by literary institutions - while also publishing poetry and unconventional works by Beat Generation members such as Kerouac, Ginsberg, Paul Bowles, Gary Snyder, and Gregory Corso.

In 1955, Ferlinghetti first heard the poem.HowlAllen Ginsberg's famous work. The very next day, he sent a telegram to Ginsberg that read: "I knew you right at the beginning of a remarkable career. But wait. When will I receive the manuscript?"HOWL?”. Printed copies of the poem were later sent to San Francisco for safekeeping, and Ferlinghetti and Ginsberg were arrested in 1957 for involvement in obscenity.

After submitting the poem to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU successfully defended it in a months-long trial. The court's ruling set an important precedent for reducing censorship, heralded a new era of freedom for books worldwide, and brought the two poets international fame.

In 1958, Ferlinghetti published his first collection of works,A Coney Island of the MindHis works sold over a million copies at that time. He wrote more than 50 volumes of poetry, novels, and travel magazines. As a publisher, he dedicated his career to developing genres of poetry and books that were not popular with the masses – although this became increasingly difficult in the face of lucrative, profit-driven publications.

At City Lights, Ferlinghetti organized numerous anti-war protests. He viewed poetry as a powerful social force, not just for the intellectual class. “The only way poets can change the world is by raising public awareness,” he said.

Over the following decades, Ferlinghetti gradually became an icon of San Francisco. In 1978, when the city was shaken by the assassination of the mayor, Ferlinghetti wrote a poem published in the San Francisco Examiner titled...An Elegy to Dispel GloomHe was later thanked by the city for helping people maintain peace of mind. In 1994, a street was named after him, and four years later, he was honored as "San Francisco's first poet."

"Lights of the city"

He continued working at the City Lights bookstore until the late 2000s, chatting with visitors and fans who came simply to meet the legend. “He was here every day back then, fixing light bulbs or other odd jobs; and he never turned down anyone who wanted to talk to him. He would always look for something in common to talk about,” said Elaine Katzenberger, the store’s current manager.

Despite being mostly bedridden and blind in his final years, he still focused on publishing his last book.Little BoyOn his 100th birthday, Ferlinghetti refused to describe it as a memoir, saying, "I object to that description. Because a memoir means a very elaborate style of writing."

In 2019, San Francisco designated March 24th (his birthday) as “Lawrence Ferlinghetti Day” to mark his centenary, with month-long celebrations. In a bedside interview for the occasion, he told The Guardian that he still hoped for a political revolution, although “America is not ready for a revolution.” “It will take a whole new generation that refuses to be enslaved to the glorification of the capitalist system… a generation not trapped in those things.”me, me, me"

When asked if he was proud of what he had accomplished, Ferlinghetti replied: “I’m not sure, to use words.”proudThat's a bit too arrogant.HappyThat would be more reasonable. And if anyone doesn't know...happy"What does that mean? They have a problem."

Lan Oanh