American poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Credit: © Robert Altman, Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

April is National Poetry Month, an annual celebration of this unique form of literature. Each week, Behind the Headlines will feature the art of poetry or a famous poet.

San Francisco, California, is home to such famous landmarks as Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, and City Lights bookstore. In 1953, the independent bookstore was founded by the American poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919-2021) and his friend Peter Martin. The store became a gathering place for the Beat movement and other avant-garde (experimental) writers and artists of the 1950’s. The Beats were writers who disapproved of commercialism and middle-class American values. Ferlinghetti was best known as a leader of the Beat movement.

Ferlinghetti wrote in colloquial (conversational) free verse. Free verse is a style of poetry that does not follow traditional rules of poetry composition. His poetry describes the need to release literature and life from conformity and timidity. The grotesque and a feeling of intense excitement are combined in his work, especially in his most famous poetry collection, A Coney Island of the Mind (1958). The collection is also a satiric criticism of American culture. Satire is the use of wit to attack human conduct or institutions.

Lawrence Monsanto Ferling was born on March 24, 1919, in Yonkers, New York. His father, an Italian immigrant, had shortened the family name, Ferlinghetti, after coming to the United States. As an adult, Lawrence learned about his father’s original name and eventually took it as his own. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1941 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II (1939-1945), he earned a master’s degree in literature from Columbia University in 1947 and a doctorate degree in literature from the Sorbonne in Paris, France, in 1950.

When he returned to the United States, Ferlinghetti settled in San Francisco, California. There, in 1953, he and Peter Martin established the City Lights bookstore. In 1955, Ferlinghetti started a publishing company, also called City Lights. He published his own first volume of poetry, Pictures of the Gone World (1955), as well as works by Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Kenneth Rexroth, and others.

Ferlinghetti’s other collections of poetry include Endless Life: Selected Poems (1981); These Are My Rivers: New and Selected Poems, 1955-1993 (1993); A Far Rockaway of the Heart (1997); and How to Paint Sunlight: Lyric Poems and Others, 1997-2000 and San Francisco Poems (both 2001). His novels include Her (1960) and Love in the Days of Rage (1988). Poetry as Insurgent Art (2007) contains his writings on the nature of poetry. Writing Across the Landscape (2015) is a collection of travel journal entries written from 1960 to 2010. In 2019, Ferlinghetti published Little Boy, an autobiographical prose poem. He also published plays and composed oral messages—poems to be spoken to jazz accompaniment. Ferlinghetti died on Feb. 22, 2021.

March 25, 2019

Yesterday, March 24, the American poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti celebrated his 100th birthday. Ferlinghetti is best known as a leader of the Beat movement of the 1950′s. The Beats were writers who rejected commercialism and middle-class American values. A birthday party for the centenarian (100-year-old) poet was held yesterday at City Lights, the famous San Francisco bookstore that Ferlinghetti co-founded in 1953. The city of San Francisco marked his birthday by declaring March 24 “Lawrence Ferlinghetti Day.”

The famed American poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti turned 100 years old on March 24, 2019. Credit: © Robert Altman, Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Lawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti was born in Yonkers, New York, in 1919. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1941 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. After serving in the United States Navy during World War II (1939-1945), he earned a master’s degree in literature from Columbia University in 1947 and a doctorate in literature from the Sorbonne in Paris, France, in 1950.

When he returned to the United States, Ferlinghetti settled in San Francisco. There, in 1953, he and a friend, Peter Martin, established the City Lights bookstore. The store became a gathering place for Beat and avant-garde (experimental) writers and artists. In 1955, Ferlinghetti started a publishing company, also called City Lights. He published his own first volume of poetry, Pictures of the Gone World (1955), as well as works by Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Kenneth Rexroth, and other writers. Ferlinghetti’s most famous poetry collection, A Coney Island of the Mind (1958), is a satiric criticism of American culture.

Ferlinghetti writes in colloquial free verse. His poetry describes the need to release literature and life from conformity and timidity. He believes Zen Buddhism and love can open the soul to truth and beauty. Aside from numerous volumes of poetry, Ferlinghetti has also written literary criticism, novels, plays, travelogues, and the 2019 autobiographical prose poem Little Boy. He is also known for his paintings and his support for liberal political and social causes.

June 26, 2018

Forty years ago this month, in June 1978, members of the Gay Community Center in San Francisco wanted a flag to fly above the California city’s Gay Freedom Day Parade (now a celebration simply called “Pride”). A group of local artists then created the rainbow flag, which would become the international symbol for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights. Transgender individuals are those whose identity or self-expression does not match the gender assigned to them at birth. June is LGBT Pride Month in the United States, and cities across the nation host concerts, festivals, colorful parades, parties, and other events that honor the identity, contributions, and historical impact of LGBT people. June is also the month in 2015 when the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that states could not ban same-sex marriage.

The rainbow flag was created for San Francisco’s Gay Freedom Day Parade 40 years ago in June 1978. Credit: © Natasha Kramskaya, Shutterstock

Before 1978, there was no official symbol for LGBT rights. Community organizers in San Francisco wanted something new, something bright and colorful that symbolized diversity, hope, and inclusion. LGBT artist and activist Gilbert Baker—remembered as the “gay Betsy Ross”—is credited with the idea and design for the rainbow flag. Baker worked with seamster James McNamara, tie-dye artist Lynn Segerblom, and a host of other artists and volunteers to create two massive 30 feet-by-60 feet (9 meters-by-18 meters) flags that flew above San Francisco’s United Nations Plaza during the June 1978 Gay Freedom Day Parade. One rainbow flag was much like the version of today. The other version included the star-spangled blue field found on the U.S. flag. The original rainbow flag had eight colored stripes. The six stripes on today’s rainbow flag are (from top to bottom) red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet—just as a natural rainbow’s color spectrum appears in the sky. Variations of the flag are used to suit certain causes, cities, or countries.

An activist for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights waves a rainbow flag in front of the Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. Credit: © AP Photo

LGBT Pride Month developed from LGBT Pride Day, which was celebrated on the last Sunday in June. In June 2000, U.S. President Bill Clinton proclaimed the first Gay and Lesbian Pride Month. George W. Bush skipped the proclamations while he was president, but every year from 2009 through 2016, President Barack Obama officially proclaimed June Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. Donald Trump has issued no such proclamations since becoming president in 2017.

May 26, 2017

Tomorrow, Saturday, May 27, is the 80^th anniversary of the opening of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge connecting San Francisco with Marin County, California. One of the largest and most spectacular suspension bridges in the world, it spans the Golden Gate Strait at the entrance of San Francisco Bay. The Golden Gate Bridge opened to pedestrians on May 27, 1937, and thousands of people took in the spectacular views as they crossed the bridge on that first day. The next day, May 28, a caravan of cars crossed the bridge—which is part of U.S. Route 101—for the first time.

Northern California’s Golden Gate Bridge opened 80 years ago on May 27, 1937. Credit: © Shutterstock

The Golden Gate Bridge, which has a total length of 8,981 feet (2,737 meters), connects northern California to the peninsula of San Francisco. It contains about 88,000 tons (75,000 metric tons) of steel, 390,000 cubic yards (300,000 cubic meters) of concrete, and 160,000 miles (260,000 kilometers) of wire in its two main cables.

Towers stand on either side of the bridge, about 1,120 feet (340 meters) from the ends. They hold up the two steel cables, 36 ³/8 inches (92 centimeters) in diameter, from which the bridge hangs. The section between the towers is 4,200 feet (1,280 meters) long, one of the world’s longest spans. The floor is 220 feet (67 meters) above the water and 90 feet (27 meters) wide. It has a six-lane road and sidewalks.

The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the world’s most famous bridges. Credit: © Thinkstock

Prior to the Golden Gate Bridge, ferry service—which began in the 1800’s and continues today—was the only way to cross San Francisco Bay. In 1916, San Francisco journalist James H. Wilkins began the modern push for a bridge, issuing a challenge to politicians and engineers alike. Wilkins called for a suspension bridge with a center span of 3,000 feet (915 meters)—nearly twice the length of any such span at that time. After considerable debate, numerous designs, court rulings, and acts passed by the California legislature, the U.S. War Department, which owned the land around the strait, approved the project in 1924.

The Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District was formed in 1928. Joseph B. Strauss was appointed chief engineer of the project and designed the bridge. The bridge was planned and constructed to withstand strong tidal forces, wind, and earthquakes. Irving F. Morrow, an architect hired by Strauss, designed the towers and selected the bridge’s distinctive “international orange” color. The color blends well with the span’s natural setting, but—from the deck of a passing ship—it stands out clearly from the gray fog banks, white clouds, and blue skies in the background, allowing for easier navigation.

In 1930, Bay Area voters approved a $35-million bond measure to finance the Golden Gate Bridge, but the bonds did not sell during the tough times of the Great Depression. In 1932, however, local banker A. P. Giannini, founder of the Bank of America, bought the entire bond issue to help the local economy. Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge then began on Jan. 5, 1933, and continued for over four years.

Remarkably, the much longer and more expensive San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge was constructed at the same time as the Golden Gate Bridge (the mammoth bridges are within easy sight of each other). Begun in July 1933, construction on the Bay Bridge (which received federal funding, making paying for the Golden Gate Bridge even tougher) continued until its opening in November 1936.

August 26, 2013

A rampaging wildfire in northern California that has already become one of the largest in that state’s history is expected to grow even bigger as difficult terrain, strong winds, and extremely dry conditions continue to thwart firefighters. As of this morning, the Rim Fire, which began on August 17, had scorched nearly 150,000 acres (60,700 hectares)–an area about the size of Chicago–and was only 15 percent contained. At least 3,000 firefighters were battling the fire on a number of fronts, aided by water and fire retardants dropped by helicopters and airborne tankers. The fire “has continued to pose every challenge that there can be on a fire,” a spokesperson with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection told the Washington Post. The fire is so large and ferocious that it is creating its own weather, the spokesperson said. “As the smoke column builds up it breaks down and collapses inside of itself, sending downdrafts and gusts that can go in any direction. There’s a lot of potential for this one to continue to grow.”

The Rim Fire is burning largely out of control in northern California, including parts of Yosemite National Park. (NASA)

The fire is also threatening power and water supplies to San Francisco, which is about 200 miles (320 kilometers) from the western edge of the blaze. Damage to electric power lines from two of the three hydroelectric power stations serving the city led California Governor Jerry Brown on August 23 to declare a state of emergency for the San Francisco Bay area. The city kept its electric power grid operational by purchasing power from other suppliers. On Sunday, the fire moved within several miles of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, which supplies about 85 percent of San Francisco’s fresh water. Officials were continually monitoring the reservoir’s water quality, which so far has been unaffected by falling ash.

The intense heat of the fire is threatening Yosemite's giant sequoias. (InciWeb/US Forest Service)

The fire has also overrun at least 15,000 acres (6,070 hectares) of the northwestern corner of Yosemite National Park. Campers and park staff have been evacuated from the affected area. Of particular concern to park officials are two of Yosemite’s famed stands of giant sequoias. Sequoias have a thick bark that protects them from fire, and they need fire to release their seeds and burn surrounding vegetation so new trees can spout. However, the Rim Fire is so hot that the trees’ canopies could be damaged. “All of the plants and trees in Yosemite are important, but the giant sequoias are incredibly important for what they are and as symbols of the National Park System,” a park spokesperson told the Associated Press.

Additional World Book articles:

• Forest fire
• Muir, John
• Sequoia National Park
• Sequoyah
• Why Forests Need to Burn (a special report)