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

A Brief History of Lawrence FerlinghettiA prominent voice of the outlaw(a) meter movement that began in the1950s, Lawrence Ferlinghetti has written poetry, translation, fiction,theater, art criticism, film narration, and essays. oftentimes concernedwith politics and social issues, Ferlinghettis poetry countered theliterary elites description of art and the artists role in the world.Though imbued with the common function, his poetry cannot be plainlydescribed as polemic or personal protest, for it stands on hiscraftsmanship, thematics, and origination intradition. Ferlinghetti was born in Yonkers in 1919, son of Carlo Ferlinghettiwho was from the province of Brescia and Clemence AlbertineMendes-Monsanto. succeeding(a) 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 grad fromColumbia University in 1947 and a Doctorate de lUniversit de Paris(Sorbonne) in 1950. From 19 51 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 foundedmetropolis Lights Bookstore, the branch all-paperbound bookshop in thecountry, and by 1955 he had launched the City Lights publishing house.The bookstore has served for half a century as a meeting place forwriters, artists, and intellectuals. City Lights Publishers began withthe Pocket Poets Series, through which Ferlinghetti aimed to create aninternational, dissident ferment. His publication of Allen GinsbergsHowl in 1956 led to his arrest on obscenity charges, and the examinationthat followed drew national attention to the San Francisco Renaissanceand Beat movement writers. (He was overpoweringly supported byprestigious literary and academic figures, and was acquitted.) Thislandmark offshoot Amendment case established a legal precedent for thepublication of polemical work with redeeming social importance.Ferli nghettis paintings have been shown at dissimilar 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, giving 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 create in Italy by Oscar Mondadori,City Lights Italia, and Minimum Fax. He was instrumental 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 heading at 77 Geary