A Brief History of Lawrence Ferlinghetti :: Writers Poetry Poets Essays

A Brief History of Lawrence FerlinghettiA prominent vocalize of the wide-open poetry suit that began in the1950s, Lawrence Ferlinghetti has written poetry, translation, fiction,theater, art criticism, contract narration, and essays. Often concernedwith politics and social issues, Ferlinghettis poetry countered theliterary elites definition of art and the artists role in the world.Though imbued with the commonplace, his poetry cannot be simplydescribed as polemic or personal protest, for it stands on hiscraftsmanship, thematics, and grounding intradition. Ferlinghetti was born in Yonkers in 1919, son of Carlo Ferlinghettiwho was from the body politic of Brescia and Clemence AlbertineMendes-Monsanto. Following his undergraduate years at the Universityof North Carolina at chapel Hill, he served in the U.S. Navy in WorldWar II as a ships commander. He received a Masters degree fromColumbia University in 1947 and a Doctorate de lUniversit de capital of France(Sorbonne) in 1950. From 1951 to 1953, when he settled in SanFrancisco, he taught French in an adult education program, painted,and wrote art criticism. In 1953, with Peter D. Martin, he founded urban center Lights Bookstore, the first all-paperbound bookshop in thecountry, and by 1955 he had launched the city Lights takings house.The bookstore has served for half a century as a impact place forwriters, artists, and intellectuals. City Lights Publishers began withthe Pocket Poets Series, through which Ferlinghetti aimed to create aninternational, dissident ferment. His return of Allen GinsbergsHowl in 1956 led to his arrest on obscenity charges, and the trialthat followed drew national attention to the San Francisco Renaissanceand Beat movement writers. (He was overwhelmingly supported byprestigious literary and academic figures, and was acquitted.) This edge First Amendment case established a legal precedent for thepublication of controversial work with redeeming social importance.Ferlinghettis paint ings have been shown at various galleries aroundthe world, from the Butler Museum of American Painting to Il Palazzodelle Esposizioni in Rome. He has been associated with theinternational Fluxus movement through the Archivio Francesco Conz inVerona. He has toured Italy, natural endowment poetry readings in Roma, Napoli,Bologna, Firenze, Milano, Verona, Brescia, Cagliari, Torino, Venezia,and Sicilia. He won the Premio Taormino in 1973, and since then hasbeen awarded the Premio Camaiore, the Premio Flaiano, the PremioCavour. among others. He is published in Italy by Oscar Mondadori,City Lights Italia, and Minimum Fax. He was implemental in arrangingextensive poetry tours in Italy produced by City Lights Italia inFirenze. He has translated from the Italian Pier Paolo Pasolins PoemiRomani, which is published by City Lights Books. In San Francisco, hiswork can regularly be seen at the George Krevsky Gallery at 77 Geary