You may have heard the sad news that the great legend who helped shaped our literary landscape, has passed. From New Directions:
“It is with great sadness that we share that America’s beloved poet, artist, activist, and publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti has died at 101 in San Francisco. Co-founder of City Lights Bookstore and defender and publisher of the Beat poets, Ferlinghetti taught us that “poetry is the ultimate illusion to live by.” His collection Coney Island of the Mind is one of the most-read and most-loved poetry books in history with over a million copies in print. Lawrence brought so much passion and wit to New Directions, and we take comfort in all the beautiful work he left for us. We think of him saying “don’t let them tell you poetry is bullshit,” as we mourn his loss and we share the sorrow of his family, friends, readers, and admirers.”
I made a Lawrence Ferlinghetti and City Lights /Beats list on Bookmanager in case you want to feature him and some of the City Lights/Beat books he published.