Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Lawrence Ferlinghetti in 1965
Ferlinghetti in 1965
BornLawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti
(1919-03-24)March 24, 1919
Yonkers, New York, U.S.
DiedFebruary 22, 2021(2021-02-22) (aged 101)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Occupation
  • Poet
  • activist
  • essayist
  • painter
  • publisher
Alma mater
Literary movementBeat poetry
Years active1940s–2021
Spouse
Selden Kirby-Smith
​
​
(m. 1951⁠–⁠1976)​
[1]
Children2[1]

Lawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti (March 24, 1919 – February 22, 2021) was an American poet, painter, social activist, and co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers.[2] An author of poetry, translations, fiction, theatre, art criticism, and film narration, Ferlinghetti was best known for his second collection of poems, A Coney Island of the Mind (1958), which has been translated into nine languages and sold over a million copies.[3] When Ferlinghetti turned 100 in March 2019, the city of San Francisco turned his birthday, March 24, into "Lawrence Ferlinghetti Day".[4]

  1. ^ a b "Lawrence Ferlinghetti Biography". Notablebiographies.com. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference WaPoObit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Mark Howell (September 30, 2007). "About The Beats: The Key West Interview: Lawrence Ferlinghetti, 1994". Abouthebeats.blogspot.com. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  4. ^ Veltman, Chloe (March 20, 2019). "City Lights founder Lawrence Ferlinghetti: 'The US isn't ready for a revolution'". The Guardian. Retrieved March 24, 2019.