(1919–)

(Born Lawrence Ferling Monsanto) American poet, novelist, and playwright.

To fully appreciate the impact of Ferlinghetti on the American literary scene in general and on the Beat Generation in particular, it is necessary to look beyond his notable contributions as a writer, especially his poetry collection A Coney Island of the Mind (1958). As co-owner of City Lights, a renowned bookstore and publishing house located in San Francisco, Ferlinghetti played a significant role in promulgating the Beat school of writing. During the late 1950s and 1960s, he was a major force in encouraging and publicizing works that ran counter to both the literary and political establishment in the United States, publishing and distributing titles by such writers as Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Frank O’Hara, Philip Lamantia, and Gregory Corso. Ferlinghetti’s arrest in 1957 on obscenity charges and his subsequent prosecution helped bring widespread...