lawrence ferlinghetti's city lights bookstore,san francisco,ca.
faramarzsoleimani.com
LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI WAS ARRESTED IN 1956 FOR PUBLISHING AND SELLING ALLEN GINSBURG'S HOWL,A "LEWD AND INDECENT MATERIAL,IN HIS CITY LIGHTS BOOKSTORE.
HE WAS THEN AQUITTED.
see also:
faramarzsoleimani.com/posrcard from italy
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I HAVE A RENDEZVOUS WITH CITY LIGHTS.NOT CHARLIE CHAPLINS BUT LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI'S.I ALWAYS THINK WRITERS USE IMAGES AND AT TIME,POETICAL LINES,AS THE TITLE OF THEIR BOOKS.IT IS MORE OF INTELLECT AND IMAGINATION.ON THE OTHER HAND,PAINTERS ARE MORE ON PERCEPTION SIDE AND:
THIS IS WHAT YOU SEE...,LIKE A GIRL WITH PEARL EARRINGS OR CABLE CAR OF SAN FRANCISCO.
I READ SOME OF THE TITLES ON THE COVERS OF BOOKS IN CITY LIGHTS:
BLOOD'S A ROVER
DAY AFTER NIGHT
GOURMET RHAPSODY
IN THE FALLING SNOW
JULIET NAKED
LITTLE BIRD OF HEAVEN
THE LOST SYMBOL
WAR DANCES
THE YEAR OF THE FLOOD
... I GO BACK TO FERLINGHETTI'S STARTING FROM SAN FRANCISCO:
THE AUTOMOBILE IS A PASSING THING
THE HORSE IS HERE TO STAY.
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SAN FRANCISCO WAS A SHANGRI LA OF HIPPIES AND BEEPIES AND UPPIES AND ALLEN AND LAWRENCE AND JACK ,AND LATER A SADO-MASO HAVEN OF PROFESSOR MICHEL FOUCAULT,WHO REACHED THE LIMELIGHT OF AIDS AND DIED FOR THAT.
SAN FRANCISCO WAS A HAVEN OF ART AND CULTURE WITH PLACES LIKE CITY LIGHTS.IT STILL IS AND IT WILL BE.IT WAS A BEAUTY,EROTIC BEAUTY,36 YEARS AGO IN MY FIRST TRIP THERE ,AND STILL IS..
...DREAMING OF UTOPIAS,
WHERE EVERYONE IS A LOVER
I SEE SAN FRANCISCO FROM MY WINDOW
THROUGH SOME OLD NAVY BEER BOTTLES
THE GLASS IS DARK
WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT
...KYRIE ELEISON KERISTA
FOR FERLINGHETTI'S THE SITUATION IN THE WEST FOLLWED BY A HOLLY PROPOSAL.
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I AM HANGING OUT IN CITY LIGHTS OF CLUMBUS AND BROADWAY.FERLINGHETTI WAS NOT THERE AND THIS YOUNG GIRL SAID HE IS RETIRED BUT MAKES OCCASUIONAL VIST THERE.AND STILL WITHOUT HIM.THE PLACE WAS A LANDMARK,AND THE BOOKS ON BEATS AND ETC...
THERE WAS A DOOR WITH THE SIGN OF : I AM DOOR.
AND STEPS WERE GOING UPSTAIRS WHICH WAS PRETTY AND POETRY SECTION,WITH POET'S CHAIR TO SIT AND READ BOOKS,IF NOT BUYING THEM.
AND DOWNSTAIR IN THE BASEMENTWAS CHILDREN SECTION AND THE OTHERS AND PICTURES AND WORDS AND SLOGANS ALL OVER PLACES,
LIKE BOOKS NOT WARS
OR VIA FERLINGHETTI
OR BANNED BOOKS
AND THEN THERE WERE PHOTOS OF BEATS AND A BIG ONE OF NERUDA AND ALLENDE , STANDING SIDE BY SIDE.
AND A POSTCARD WITH POET'S POEM PRINTED ON IT.
...
I BOUGHT "TARGETTING IRAN" ,INTERVIEWS BY DAVID BARSAMIAN WITH NOAM CHOMSKY,ERVAND ABRAHIMIAN AND NAHID MOZAFFARI.I READ THEM THROUGH.THEY WERE MORE OF OVERVIEW OF WHAT YOU ALREADY READ.I ENJOYED MOZAFFARI'S THAT WAS MORE DISCUSSING WOMEN CAUSE
*I AM GOING TO TELL YOU THAT,CITY LIGHTS IS NOT ONLY LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI'S BOOKSHELF ,BUT ALSO BELONG TO OTHER SAN FRANCISCO POETS SUCH AS"
KENNETH REXROTH
BROTHER ANTONINUS(WILLIAM EVERSON)
LEW WELCH
MICHAEL MC CLURE
RICHARD BRAUTIGAN
GARY SNYDER
ROBERT DUNCAN
+BEAT GENERATION:
GREGORY CORSO
JACK KEROUAC
NEAL CASSADY
ALLEN GINSBERG
PETER ORLOVSKY
DIANE DI PRIMA
JOHN WIENERS
WILLIAM S BURROUGHS
AMIRI BARAKA
LARENCE FERLINGHETTI
JOANNE KYGER
LEW WELCH
LENORE KANDEL
PHILIP WHALEN
BOB KAUFMAN
MICHAEL MC CLURE
GARY SNYDERHAROLD NORSE
THEY WERE A BROKEN ,CURSED GENERATION WHO BROUGHT AMERICAN LITERATURE TO ITS CLIMAX OF MODERNISM.THE BEAT WOMEN ARE MORE THAN THESE,AND I AM TRYING TO MAKE A LIST OF THEIR NAME,LIKE:
HELEN ADAM
JANE BOWLES
MADELINE GLEASON
JOSEPHINE MILES
JOAN VOLLMER ADAMS BURROUGHS
CAROLYN CASSADY
EDIE PARKER KEROUAC
JOAN HARVETRY KEROUAC
EILEEN KAUFMAN
ALSO MARY FABILLI
ELISE COWEN
PATTI SMITH?
JOYCE JOHNSON
HETTIE JONES
DENISE LEVERTOV
JOANNE MC CLURE
JANINE POMMY VEGA
RUTH WEISS
MARY NORBERT KORTE
BRENDA FRAZER
LENORE KANDEL
ANNE WALDEMAN
JAN KEROUAC
+BERKLEY RENAISSANCE(W/R.DUNCAN):
LANDIS EVERSON
RUBIN BLAZER
JACK SPICER...
BY TH WAY WAS LANDIS EVERSON RELATED TO WILLIAM EVERSON(BROTHER ANTONINUS)?
THIS LIST COULD BE LONGER BY MAKING MORE VISIT TO CITY LIGHTS BOOK STORE AND OTHER SOURCES,AND ESPECIALLY COULD BE HANDY WHEN YOU WANT TO READ MORE ABOUT THEM AND OR TRANSLATE THEIR WORKS TO OTHER LANGUAGES,LIKE FARSI/PERSIAN.
