Who was Lawrence Ferlinghetti?

Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919–2021) was an American poet and a key figure in the Beat movement in San Francisco during the 1950s. Ferlinghetti's early life was marked by the loss of his father and his mother's hospitalization. He served as a U.S. naval officer in World War II and pursued degrees at the University of North Carolina, Columbia University, and the Sorbonne. In 1951, he settled in San Francisco and, in 1953, established the City Lights Pocket Book Shop, a hub for the city's literary avant-garde. His City Lights publishing arm first published Beat poetry books, including Allen Ginsberg's Howl and Other Poems . Ferlinghetti's own poetry, known for its conversational style and political themes, resonated with many and solidified his place in literary history.

What is Lawrence Ferlinghetti best known for?

Lawrence Ferlinghetti is best known as an American poet and one of the founders of the Beat movement in San Francisco in the mid-1950s. His City Lights bookshop was a gathering place for the Beats, and its publishing arm was the first to print their books of poetry. Ferlinghetti's own conversational verse gained popularity in coffeehouses and campus auditoriums, resonating with disaffected youth. His collection A Coney Island of the Mind (1958) became the best-selling book by a living American poet in the latter half of the 20th century.

How did Ferlinghetti help support other writers and poets?

Lawrence Ferlinghetti supported writers and poets through his City Lights bookshop, a gathering place for the Beat movement in San Francisco in the 1950s. The publishing arm of City Lights was the first to print books of poetry by Beat authors. City Lights Books notably published Allen Ginsberg 's Howl and Other Poems and printed works by Jack Kerouac , Gregory Corso, Denise Levertov, William Burroughs, and William Carlos Williams.

What was City Lights Bookstore, and why was it important to poetry?

City Lights Bookstore was founded by Lawrence Ferlinghetti in San Francisco in 1953. It quickly became a gathering place for the city’s literary avant-garde. In 1955, City Lights published Ferlinghetti’s Pictures of the Gone World , the first paperback volume of the Pocket Poets series. City Lights was the first to publish books of poetry by Beat poets such as Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and William Carlos Williams. Ferlinghetti’s bookstore and publishing house helped to promote and disseminate Beat poetry, making it accessible to a wider audience.

How did Lawrence Ferlinghetti influence American literature and culture?

Lawrence Ferlinghetti significantly impacted American literature and culture as a Beat movement founder in San Francisco. His City Lights bookshop became a Beat gathering place, and his publishing house was the first to print books of poetry by Beat authors such as Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac. Ferlinghetti's own poetry, such as A Coney Island of the Mind (1958), was written in a conversational style, designed to be read aloud, and resonated with disaffected youth. His work often had a political orientation, exemplified by poems like One Thousand Fearful Words for Fidel Castro (1961) and Where Is Vietnam (1965). From 1998 to 2000, Ferlinghetti served as poet laureate of San Francisco.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti

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Books displayed in the window of City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, with the store name in large white letters across the glass and reflections of trees and parked cars outside.

The life of poet and publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Allen Ginsberg stand in front of sculpted figures at the Albert Memorial in South Kensington, London, in a black-and-white photo from 1965.

At a Glance

Lawrence Ferlinghetti summary

Quick Facts

In full:: Lawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti

Born:: March 24, 1919, Yonkers, New York, U.S.

Died:: February 22, 2021, San Francisco, California (aged 101)

Founder:: Beat movement

Notable Works:: “A Coney Island of the Mind”; “A Far Rockaway of the Heart”; “Americus: Part I”; “Endless Life”; “I Greet You at the Beginning of a Great Career: The Selected Correspondence of Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Allen Ginsberg, 1955–1997”; “Little Boy”; “Love in the Days of Rage”; “One Thousand Fearful Words for Fidel Castro”; “Pictures of the Gone World”; “Tentative Description of a Dinner Given to Promote the Impeachment of President Eisenhower”; “Tyrannus Nix?”; “What is Poetry?”; “Where is Vietnam”; “Who Are We Now?”; “Writing Across the Landscape: Travel Journals 1960–2010”

Lawrence Ferlinghetti

American poet

Also known as: Lawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti

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Britannica Editors

History

Top Questions

Who was Lawrence Ferlinghetti?
Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919–2021) was an American poet and a key figure in the Beat movement in San Francisco during the 1950s.

Ferlinghetti's early life was marked by the loss of his father and his mother's hospitalization. He served as a U.S. naval officer in World War II and pursued degrees at the University of North Carolina, Columbia University, and the Sorbonne.

In 1951, he settled in San Francisco and, in 1953, established the City Lights Pocket Book Shop, a hub for the city's literary avant-garde. His City Lights publishing arm first published Beat poetry books, including Allen Ginsberg's Howl and Other Poems. Ferlinghetti's own poetry, known for its conversational style and political themes, resonated with many and solidified his place in literary history.
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1. Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What is Lawrence Ferlinghetti best known for?
Lawrence Ferlinghetti is best known as an American poet and one of the founders of the Beat movement in San Francisco in the mid-1950s. His City Lights bookshop was a gathering place for the Beats, and its publishing arm was the first to print their books of poetry.

Ferlinghetti's own conversational verse gained popularity in coffeehouses and campus auditoriums, resonating with disaffected youth. His collection A Coney Island of the Mind (1958) became the best-selling book by a living American poet in the latter half of the 20th century.
1 Britannica Source
1. Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
When did Lawrence Ferlinghetti begin his career as a poet?
Lawrence Ferlinghetti's career as a poet took off in the mid-1950s when he became one of the founders of the Beat movement in San Francisco. In 1951, Ferlinghetti settled in San Francisco, and in 1953, he opened the City Lights Pocket Book Shop, which quickly became a gathering place for the city’s literary avant-garde. In 1955, Ferlinghetti’s new City Lights press published his verse collection Pictures of the Gone World, which was the first paperback volume of the Pocket Poets series. His collection A Coney Island of the Mind (1958) became the best-selling book by any living American poet in the second half of the 20th century.
1 Britannica Source
1. Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How did Ferlinghetti help support other writers and poets?
Lawrence Ferlinghetti supported writers and poets through his City Lights bookshop, a gathering place for the Beat movement in San Francisco in the 1950s. The publishing arm of City Lights was the first to print books of poetry by Beat authors. City Lights Books notably published Allen Ginsberg's Howl and Other Poems and printed works by Jack Kerouac, Gregory Corso, Denise Levertov, William Burroughs, and William Carlos Williams.
1 Britannica Source
1. Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What was City Lights Bookstore, and why was it important to poetry?
City Lights Bookstore was founded by Lawrence Ferlinghetti in San Francisco in 1953. It quickly became a gathering place for the city’s literary avant-garde. In 1955, City Lights published Ferlinghetti’s Pictures of the Gone World, the first paperback volume of the Pocket Poets series. City Lights was the first to publish books of poetry by Beat poets such as Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and William Carlos Williams. Ferlinghetti’s bookstore and publishing house helped to promote and disseminate Beat poetry, making it accessible to a wider audience.
1 Britannica Source
1. Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How did Lawrence Ferlinghetti influence American literature and culture?
Lawrence Ferlinghetti significantly impacted American literature and culture as a Beat movement founder in San Francisco. His City Lights bookshop became a Beat gathering place, and his publishing house was the first to print books of poetry by Beat authors such as Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac.

Ferlinghetti's own poetry, such as A Coney Island of the Mind (1958), was written in a conversational style, designed to be read aloud, and resonated with disaffected youth. His work often had a political orientation, exemplified by poems like One Thousand Fearful Words for Fidel Castro (1961) and Where Is Vietnam (1965). From 1998 to 2000, Ferlinghetti served as poet laureate of San Francisco.
1 Britannica Source
1. Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti (born March 24, 1919, Yonkers, New York, U.S.—died February 22, 2021, San Francisco, California) was an American poet, one of the founders of the Beat movement in San Francisco in the mid-1950s. His City Lights bookshop was an early gathering place of the Beats, and the publishing arm of City Lights was the first to print the Beats’ books of poetry.

Ferlinghetti’s father died shortly before Lawrence was born, his mother was placed in a mental hospital, and a female relative took him to France, where he spent most of his childhood. Later they lived on a Long Island, New York, estate on which she was employed as a governess. Ferlinghetti was a U.S. naval officer during World War II, and he received a B.A. at the University of North Carolina, an M.A. at Columbia University, and a doctorate at the Sorbonne in 1951.

In 1951 Ferlinghetti settled in San Francisco, and in 1953 he opened the City Lights Pocket Book Shop, which quickly became a gathering place for the city’s literary avant-garde. In 1955 Ferlinghetti’s new City Lights press published his verse collection Pictures of the Gone World, which was the first paperback volume of the Pocket Poets series. Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and Other Poems (1956) was originally published as the fourth volume in the series. City Lights Books printed other works by Ginsberg as well as books by Jack Kerouac, Gregory Corso, Denise Levertov, William Burroughs, William Carlos Williams, and foreign authors.

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Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) only confirmed photograph of Emily Dickinson. 1978 scan of a Daguerreotype. ca. 1847; in the Amherst College Archives. American poet. See Notes:

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Ferlinghetti’s own lucid, good-natured, witty verse was written in a conversational style and was designed to be read aloud; it was popular in coffeehouses and campus auditoriums and struck a responsive chord in disaffected youth. His collection A Coney Island of the Mind (1958), with its notable verse “Autobiography,” became the largest-selling book by any living American poet in the second half of the 20th century. The long poem Tentative Description of a Dinner Given to Promote the Impeachment of President Eisenhower (1958) was also popular. Ferlinghetti’s later poems continued to be politically oriented, as such titles as One Thousand Fearful Words for Fidel Castro (1961), Where Is Vietnam (1965), Tyrannus Nix? (1969), and Who Are We Now? (1976) suggest. Retrospective collections of his poems were published as Endless Life (1981) and These Are My Rivers (1995). In 1988 Ferlinghetti published a short novel, Love in the Days of Rage, about a romance during the student revolution in France in 1968.

A Far Rockaway of the Heart, a sequel to A Coney Island of the Mind, appeared in 1997. Two years later he published What Is Poetry?, a book of prose poetry, which was followed by the collection How to Paint Sunlight (2001) and Americus: Part I (2004), a history of the United States in verse. In Poetry as Insurgent Art (2007), a volume of prose poems, he exhorted a return to the firebrand political poetics of the Beat generation. Time of Useful Consciousness (2012) contains poems analyzing the state of contemporary culture. Some of his meditations on travel were collected as Writing Across the Landscape: Travel Journals 1960–2010 (2015), and a number of his exchanges with Ginsberg were published as I Greet You at the Beginning of a Great Career: The Selected Correspondence of Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Allen Ginsberg, 1955–1997 (2015). Shortly before his 100th birthday, Ferlinghetti published the autobiographical novel Little Boy (2019).

From 1998 to 2000 Ferlinghetti was poet laureate of San Francisco.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti

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