Lawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti (born March 24, 1919) is an American poet, painter, liberal activist, and the co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers. Author of poetry, translations, fiction, theatre, art criticism, and film narration, he is best known for A Coney Island of the Mind (1958), a collection of poems that has been translated into nine languages, with sales of more than one million copies.
Early life
Lawrence Ferlinghetti was born on March 24, 1919 in Bronxville, New York. His mother, Albertine Mendes-Monsanto (born in Lyon, France) was of French/PortugueseSephardic heritage. His father, Carlo Ferlinghetti, was born in Chiari, a small town in the province of Brescia, Italy on March 14, 1872. He immigrated to the United States in 1894, was naturalized in 1896, and worked as an auctioneer in Little Italy, of New York City. At some unknown point, Carlo Ferlinghetti shortened the family name to "Ferling," and Lawrence would not learn of his original family name until 1942, when he had to provide a birth certificate to join the U.S. Navy. Although he used "Ferling" for his earliest published work, Ferlinghetti reverted to the original Italian "Ferlinghetti" in 1955, when publishing his first book of poems, Pictures of the Gone World.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti: The world is a beautiful place
To celebrate Lawrence Ferlinghetti's 100th Birthday we have delved into the archives to unearth a cluster of poems by the great Beat Poet.
published: 19 Mar 2019
USA: Poetry Episode Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Presents two contemporary American poets in a study of poetic involvement with events in the non-literary world. Shows scenes of Ginsberg's everyday life as he discusses the San Francisco poetry renaissance, and reads from his works: Howl and other poems, Who to be kind to, From New York to San Fran. and Guru. Ferlinghetti reads from his poems--Dog, and The Situation in the West.
Poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti laments changing San Francisco
Ninety-six-year-old Lawrence Ferlinghetti settled in San Francisco in the 1950s, where he opened the City Lights bookshop and publishing house. But today San Francisco is better known as a central hub of the tech boom than of countercultural creativity. Jeffrey Brown offers a look at how the poet sees his changing city.
published: 24 Mar 2015
LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI: POET AS PAINTER
What a blast it was to hang with literary icon Lawrence Ferlinghetti, to see his paintings and listen to him read poems he'd composed about art. This month (March 24, 2019) he will have lived 100 years, years in which his poetry, his art, and not least, his social activism and literary advocacy have immeasurably improved our lives. I offer this small homage and a heartfelt "Cent'anni!" Enjoy.
And please check out The Writer's Brush for hundreds of writers and their artwork and donaldfriedman.com for post-pub additions and more writer-artist videos.
published: 02 Mar 2019
Lawrence Ferlinghetti Autobiography
"Autobiography" was written especially for oral presentation within the newly evolving techniques of combining poetry with jazz. Ferlinghetti describes the experiment thus:
"It really developed along with the Cellar sessions. My whole kick has been oral poetry. The poets today are talking to themselves, they have no other audience. The competition from the mass media is too much. And the poets don’t write their poems with the idea of its being read aloud in mind when they write it. Poetry used to have an audience. Rachel Linsay went around the country reciting poems for bread — that was his phrase. And Sand¬burg, when he was younger, went around with a guitar and had an audience. We’re trying to 2 capture an audience. The jazz comes in as part of the attempt to get the audience back. . .
...
published: 07 Jul 2017
Lawrence Ferlinghetti - Last Prayer (The Last Waltz)
Presents two contemporary American poets in a study of poetic involvement with events in the non-literary world. Shows scenes of Ginsberg's everyday life as he ...
Presents two contemporary American poets in a study of poetic involvement with events in the non-literary world. Shows scenes of Ginsberg's everyday life as he discusses the San Francisco poetry renaissance, and reads from his works: Howl and other poems, Who to be kind to, From New York to San Fran. and Guru. Ferlinghetti reads from his poems--Dog, and The Situation in the West.
Presents two contemporary American poets in a study of poetic involvement with events in the non-literary world. Shows scenes of Ginsberg's everyday life as he discusses the San Francisco poetry renaissance, and reads from his works: Howl and other poems, Who to be kind to, From New York to San Fran. and Guru. Ferlinghetti reads from his poems--Dog, and The Situation in the West.
Ninety-six-year-old Lawrence Ferlinghetti settled in San Francisco in the 1950s, where he opened the City Lights bookshop and publishing house. But today San Fr...
Ninety-six-year-old Lawrence Ferlinghetti settled in San Francisco in the 1950s, where he opened the City Lights bookshop and publishing house. But today San Francisco is better known as a central hub of the tech boom than of countercultural creativity. Jeffrey Brown offers a look at how the poet sees his changing city.
Ninety-six-year-old Lawrence Ferlinghetti settled in San Francisco in the 1950s, where he opened the City Lights bookshop and publishing house. But today San Francisco is better known as a central hub of the tech boom than of countercultural creativity. Jeffrey Brown offers a look at how the poet sees his changing city.
What a blast it was to hang with literary icon Lawrence Ferlinghetti, to see his paintings and listen to him read poems he'd composed about art. This month (Mar...
What a blast it was to hang with literary icon Lawrence Ferlinghetti, to see his paintings and listen to him read poems he'd composed about art. This month (March 24, 2019) he will have lived 100 years, years in which his poetry, his art, and not least, his social activism and literary advocacy have immeasurably improved our lives. I offer this small homage and a heartfelt "Cent'anni!" Enjoy.
And please check out The Writer's Brush for hundreds of writers and their artwork and donaldfriedman.com for post-pub additions and more writer-artist videos.
What a blast it was to hang with literary icon Lawrence Ferlinghetti, to see his paintings and listen to him read poems he'd composed about art. This month (March 24, 2019) he will have lived 100 years, years in which his poetry, his art, and not least, his social activism and literary advocacy have immeasurably improved our lives. I offer this small homage and a heartfelt "Cent'anni!" Enjoy.
And please check out The Writer's Brush for hundreds of writers and their artwork and donaldfriedman.com for post-pub additions and more writer-artist videos.
"Autobiography" was written especially for oral presentation within the newly evolving techniques of combining poetry with jazz. Ferlinghetti describes the expe...
"Autobiography" was written especially for oral presentation within the newly evolving techniques of combining poetry with jazz. Ferlinghetti describes the experiment thus:
"It really developed along with the Cellar sessions. My whole kick has been oral poetry. The poets today are talking to themselves, they have no other audience. The competition from the mass media is too much. And the poets don’t write their poems with the idea of its being read aloud in mind when they write it. Poetry used to have an audience. Rachel Linsay went around the country reciting poems for bread — that was his phrase. And Sand¬burg, when he was younger, went around with a guitar and had an audience. We’re trying to 2 capture an audience. The jazz comes in as part of the attempt to get the audience back. . .
"I make use of phrases which are floating around in people's minds from advertising or from some slogan and I give them a little twist. I was always trying to write so that the poems could have a public surface which any one can get, but there's no reason it couldn't have another level which only the instructed can get. You can have all kinds of allusions to ‘Waiting for Godot’, Joyce, or Hamlet or anything else as long as it has a public surface too, which doesn't depend on this."
This PowerPoint production is the conclusion of my talk on the San Francisco Beat Poets. https://youtu.be/1CrERUv7jOI
"Autobiography" was written especially for oral presentation within the newly evolving techniques of combining poetry with jazz. Ferlinghetti describes the experiment thus:
"It really developed along with the Cellar sessions. My whole kick has been oral poetry. The poets today are talking to themselves, they have no other audience. The competition from the mass media is too much. And the poets don’t write their poems with the idea of its being read aloud in mind when they write it. Poetry used to have an audience. Rachel Linsay went around the country reciting poems for bread — that was his phrase. And Sand¬burg, when he was younger, went around with a guitar and had an audience. We’re trying to 2 capture an audience. The jazz comes in as part of the attempt to get the audience back. . .
"I make use of phrases which are floating around in people's minds from advertising or from some slogan and I give them a little twist. I was always trying to write so that the poems could have a public surface which any one can get, but there's no reason it couldn't have another level which only the instructed can get. You can have all kinds of allusions to ‘Waiting for Godot’, Joyce, or Hamlet or anything else as long as it has a public surface too, which doesn't depend on this."
This PowerPoint production is the conclusion of my talk on the San Francisco Beat Poets. https://youtu.be/1CrERUv7jOI
Presents two contemporary American poets in a study of poetic involvement with events in the non-literary world. Shows scenes of Ginsberg's everyday life as he discusses the San Francisco poetry renaissance, and reads from his works: Howl and other poems, Who to be kind to, From New York to San Fran. and Guru. Ferlinghetti reads from his poems--Dog, and The Situation in the West.
Ninety-six-year-old Lawrence Ferlinghetti settled in San Francisco in the 1950s, where he opened the City Lights bookshop and publishing house. But today San Francisco is better known as a central hub of the tech boom than of countercultural creativity. Jeffrey Brown offers a look at how the poet sees his changing city.
What a blast it was to hang with literary icon Lawrence Ferlinghetti, to see his paintings and listen to him read poems he'd composed about art. This month (March 24, 2019) he will have lived 100 years, years in which his poetry, his art, and not least, his social activism and literary advocacy have immeasurably improved our lives. I offer this small homage and a heartfelt "Cent'anni!" Enjoy.
And please check out The Writer's Brush for hundreds of writers and their artwork and donaldfriedman.com for post-pub additions and more writer-artist videos.
"Autobiography" was written especially for oral presentation within the newly evolving techniques of combining poetry with jazz. Ferlinghetti describes the experiment thus:
"It really developed along with the Cellar sessions. My whole kick has been oral poetry. The poets today are talking to themselves, they have no other audience. The competition from the mass media is too much. And the poets don’t write their poems with the idea of its being read aloud in mind when they write it. Poetry used to have an audience. Rachel Linsay went around the country reciting poems for bread — that was his phrase. And Sand¬burg, when he was younger, went around with a guitar and had an audience. We’re trying to 2 capture an audience. The jazz comes in as part of the attempt to get the audience back. . .
"I make use of phrases which are floating around in people's minds from advertising or from some slogan and I give them a little twist. I was always trying to write so that the poems could have a public surface which any one can get, but there's no reason it couldn't have another level which only the instructed can get. You can have all kinds of allusions to ‘Waiting for Godot’, Joyce, or Hamlet or anything else as long as it has a public surface too, which doesn't depend on this."
This PowerPoint production is the conclusion of my talk on the San Francisco Beat Poets. https://youtu.be/1CrERUv7jOI
Lawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti (born March 24, 1919) is an American poet, painter, liberal activist, and the co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers. Author of poetry, translations, fiction, theatre, art criticism, and film narration, he is best known for A Coney Island of the Mind (1958), a collection of poems that has been translated into nine languages, with sales of more than one million copies.
Early life
Lawrence Ferlinghetti was born on March 24, 1919 in Bronxville, New York. His mother, Albertine Mendes-Monsanto (born in Lyon, France) was of French/PortugueseSephardic heritage. His father, Carlo Ferlinghetti, was born in Chiari, a small town in the province of Brescia, Italy on March 14, 1872. He immigrated to the United States in 1894, was naturalized in 1896, and worked as an auctioneer in Little Italy, of New York City. At some unknown point, Carlo Ferlinghetti shortened the family name to "Ferling," and Lawrence would not learn of his original family name until 1942, when he had to provide a birth certificate to join the U.S. Navy. Although he used "Ferling" for his earliest published work, Ferlinghetti reverted to the original Italian "Ferlinghetti" in 1955, when publishing his first book of poems, Pictures of the Gone World.
Over the years, as San Francisco has become more corporate with more homeless and more Teslas, BMWs and Audis, very little has changed at the store, which LawrenceFerlinghetti founded in 1953 with Peter Martin.
Mr ...People are also reading… ... And I do not mow them down ... Well, I just finished reading LawrenceFerlinghetti’s “A Coney Island of the Mind” (1958) ... Ferlinghetti to be a breath of fresh air. Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919-2021) had a B.A ... The words ... .