Literary legend Lawrence Ferlinghetti died on Monday at age 101 in San Francisco’s North Beach, the vibrant neighborhood he’s all but synonymous with. A bestselling poet and a cofounder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers, Ferlinghetti was instrumental in changing American literature, namely by giving voice to the counterculture literary scene of the 1950s Beat generation and beyond. The acclaimed writer, poet, essayist, and activist’s 1958 book, A Coney Island of the Mind, has sold roughly a million copies and remains in print. Here, we’ve gathered a collection of tributes that help honor Ferlinghetti’s countless contributions to our culture.
- “The Smithy of His Soul”—Alta
- “Personal Scrapbook: Lawrence Ferlinghetti”—Alta
- “Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Poet and Founder of City Lights, Dead at 101”—San Francisco Chronicle
- “Poetry’s Rock Star”—Slate
- “Lawrence Ferlinghetti 1919–2021”—City Lights, Tumblr
- “Farewell to Ferlinghetti”—Paris Review
- “‘Our City Belongs to the Poets’: San Francisco Makes Pilgrimage to City Lights to Remember Lawrence Ferlinghetti”—Datebook, San Francisco Chronicle
- “Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Poet and Founder of City Lights Booksellers, Dies at 101”—Hoodline
- “Lawrence Ferlinghetti Dead at 101”—Rolling Stone
- “Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Poet Who Nurtured the Beats, Dies at 101”—New York Times
- “Remembering Ferlinghetti”—David Talbot Show
- “Iconic San Francisco Poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti Dies at 101”—KRON4
Nasim Ghasemiyeh is an associate editor at Alta Journal. She graduated with a degree in rhetoric from UC Berkeley.
