Biography

Lawrence Ferlinghetti

·     In 1919, Lawrence Ferlinghetti was born in Yonkers, New York.

·     Spent his childhood in France to live with his Aunt and Uncle, following this he received his BA from the University of North Carolina, an MA from Columbia University, and a PhD from the Sorbonne.

·     During World War II he served in the US Naval Reserve

·     He married in 1951 and has one daughter and one son, he never met his own father (he died 6 months before his death and the cause was unknown) and his mother committed to an asylum shortly after his birth. 
·     In 1953, Ferlinghetti and Peter Martin began to publish City Lights magazine, they also opened the City Lights Books Shop in San Francisco to help support the magazine.

·     In 1955, they launched City Light Publishing, a book-publishing venture.

·     Ferlinghetti is the author of more than thirty books of poetry

·     Lawrence is also the author more than eight plays and of the novels, he has also translated numerous poems.

·     In 1994, San Francisco renamed a street in his honor.

·     He was named the first Poet Laureate of San Francisco in 1998.

·     Other achievements include the lifetime achievement award from the National Book Critics Circle in 2000, the Frost Medal in 2003, and The Literarian Award in 2005 presented “for outstanding service to the American literary community.”

·     Ferlinghetti currently writes a weekly column for the San Francisco Chronicle, also continues to operate the City Lights bookstore.

·     Ferlinghetti went to trial in late August in the Supreme Court. He was charged with lewdly printing, publishing and selling obscene writings. This was due to the poem “Howl” which he published above his bookstore. The defense team called up nine witnesses to testify that it contributed to literature and society, calling it “thoroughly honest.” Finally Oct.3  1957 judges claimed “Howl” was not obscene.