On March 24, Beat icon, Lawrence Ferlinghetti celebrated his 92nd birthday. His work as a poet, activist, artist, publisher and co-founder of the legendary City Lights continue to have a profound influence on the arts and literary communtiy worldwide. His 1958 collection, A Coney Island of the Mind is still the best selling poetry collection in the USA, it’s wild jazz rhythms as potent as ever.
So Lawrence, happy (belated) 92nd birthday. To celebrate, here’s a podcast of Lawrence debuting material from his collection, Poetry as Insurgent Art back in 2007. And if that is not enough to satiate your need for Ferlinghetti’s bristling images, check out this reading of his classic poem, The World is a Beautiful Place.
In just a few short months, I will fulfil one of my life’s dreams of setting foot in City Lights… and who knows, maybe I will be lucky enough to bump into Lawrence while I am there.
