The world lost a cultural icon this past week, the kind that comes along once in a generation. (In this case, a beat generation.) Lawrence Ferlinghetti was one of the last great beat poets, and a champion of free expression as the founder of the City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, California where he helped to spark a lasting literary movement.
As a Facebook tribute to Ferlinghetti from the bookstore notes, it opened as the “first all-paperback bookstore” in 1953, with an aim to make the books affordable and more diverse. As City Lights was also a publisher, it was thrust into the spotlight in 1956 when it published Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg, another key player in the beat movement. Howl took on subjects such as homosexuality that were taboo at the time, and a shipment of the books was even seized at customs due to perceived obscenity.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti Opened the Door to Historic Works
Believing strongly in free speech, Ferlinghetti actually stood trial as the seller to help ensure the book captured its rightful place in history. The judge of the case deemed the book to be protected under First Amendment rights for having an element of social importance, which opened the door to more works from legendary beat writers.
They include Jack Kerouac – famous for On The Road that has sold more than 3 million copies in 25 languages. The book is an anthem to live one-day-to-the-next while hitchhiking across the country freedom. Another beat writer you’ve probably heard about is William S. Burroughs for scribing Naked Lunch.
Ferlinghetti himself was more than just a bookstore owner and publisher of counterculture literature – he himself was a prolific writer, continuing his work until the age of 100 (he passed away at 101.) His most famous work is probably a Coney Island of the Mind, a collection of poems he published in 1968.
City Lights Bookstore Is an Experience in Itself
Visiting the City Lights Bookstore with my wife in 2011 was a special treat. What struck me the most about it is that the store itself is as interesting as the literature being sold there. We happened to show up during a reading of Go The Fuck to Sleep, a satirical children’s book by Adam Mansbach. The reading was taking place in the bookstore’s poetry room, and it was standing room only (we didn’t make it any further than the staircase).
Throughout the store, there are many messages and posters that echo the sentiments of the beat generation, giving you a feel for what was happening at the time. I was intoxicated by the bohemian charm. (Speaking of intoxicating, we also stopped in next door for a cocktail at the Vesuvio Cafe, once frequented by Kerouac and others from the beat scene. Ferlinghetti, meanwhile, was reported to have been sober.)
The Beat Goes On
There is something uniquely authentic and deeply romantic about the beat generation. It was a time when America still had the Second World War in its rear-view mirror, and the country was redefining itself. Social norms were being pushed, and these writers showed there was no shame in living outside the thickly drawn lines of the era. I admire how they seemed to have figured out how to live life on their own terms and produce art that was unapologetic. They lived to write, and it showed through every sentence, every verse.
While the great beat poet laureate may be gone, his colleagues at City Lights said in the Facebook post that they plan to keep going. “We intend to build on Ferlinghetti’s vision and honor his memory by sustaining City Lights into the future as a center for open intellectual inquiry and commitment to literary culture and progressive politics,” it reads. “Though we mourn his passing, we celebrate his many contributions and give thanks for all the years we were able to work by his side.
“We love you, Lawrence.”
