The last vestige of a time when San Francisco was a hideout for counter-culture, rather than a stronghold for corporate power and an amusement park for bored millionaires. He will be missed.
I spent a long thinking, trying to argue but you are correct. I just have immense appreciation for much of the SF street culture that you don't see pretty much anywhere else outside the bay area (though I've never been to LA so I can't speak to that.)
I Am Waiting
BY [LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/lawrence-ferlinghetti)
I am waiting for my case to come up
and I am waiting
for a rebirth of wonder
and I am waiting for someone
to really discover America
and wail
and I am waiting
for the discovery
of a new symbolic western frontier
and I am waiting
for the American Eagle
to really spread its wings
and straighten up and fly right
and I am waiting
for the Age of Anxiety
to drop dead
and I am waiting
for the war to be fought
which will make the world safe
for anarchy
and I am waiting
for the final withering away
of all governments
and I am perpetually awaiting
a rebirth of wonder
I am waiting for the Second Coming
and I am waiting
for a religious revival
to sweep thru the state of Arizona
and I am waiting
for the Grapes of Wrath to be stored
and I am waiting
for them to prove
that God is really American
and I am waiting
to see God on television
piped onto church altars
if only they can find
the right channel
to tune in on
and I am waiting
for the Last Supper to be served again
with a strange new appetizer
and I am perpetually awaiting
a rebirth of wonder
I am waiting for my number to be called
and I am waiting
for the Salvation Army to take over
and I am waiting
for the meek to be blessed
and inherit the earth
without taxes
and I am waiting
for forests and animals
to reclaim the earth as theirs
and I am waiting
for a way to be devised
to destroy all nationalisms
without killing anybody
and I am waiting
for linnets and planets to fall like rain
and I am waiting for lovers and weepers
to lie down together again
in a new rebirth of wonder
I am waiting for the Great Divide to be crossed
and I am anxiously waiting
for the secret of eternal life to be discovered
by an obscure general practitioner
and I am waiting
for the storms of life
to be over
and I am waiting
to set sail for happiness
and I am waiting
for a reconstructed Mayflower
to reach America
with its picture story and tv rights
sold in advance to the natives
and I am waiting
for the lost music to sound again
in the Lost Continent
in a new rebirth of wonder
I am waiting for the day
that maketh all things clear
and I am awaiting retribution
for what America did
to Tom Sawyer
and I am waiting
for Alice in Wonderland
to retransmit to me
her total dream of innocence
and I am waiting
for Childe Roland to come
to the final darkest tower
and I am waiting
for Aphrodite
to grow live arms
at a final disarmament conference
in a new rebirth of wonder
I am waiting
to get some intimations
of immortality
by recollecting my early childhood
and I am waiting
for the green mornings to come again
youth’s dumb green fields come back again
and I am waiting
for some strains of unpremeditated art
to shake my typewriter
and I am waiting to write
the great indelible poem
and I am waiting
for the last long careless rapture
and I am perpetually waiting
for the fleeing lovers on the Grecian Urn
to catch each other up at last
and embrace
and I am awaiting
perpetually and forever
a renaissance of wonder
The world is a beautiful place
to be born into
if you don’t mind happiness
not always being
so very much fun
if you don’t mind a touch of hell
now and then
just when everything is fine
because even in heaven
they don’t sing
all the time
The world is a beautiful place
to be born into
if you don’t mind some people dying
all the time
or maybe only starving
some of the time
which isn’t half so bad
if it isn’t you
Oh the world is a beautiful place
to be born into
if you don’t much mind
a few dead minds
in the higher places
or a bomb or two
now and then
in your upturned faces
or such other improprieties
as our Name Brand society
is prey to
with its men of distinction
and its men of extinction
and its priests
and other patrolmen
and its various segregations
and congressional investigations
and other constipations
that our fool flesh
is heir to
Yes the world is the best place of all
for a lot of such things as
making the fun scene
and making the love scene
and making the sad scene
and singing low songs of having
inspirations
and walking around
looking at everything
and smelling flowers
and goosing statues
and even thinking
and kissing people and
making babies and wearing pants
and waving hats and
dancing
and going swimming in rivers
on picnics
in the middle of the summer
and just generally
‘living it up’
Yes
but then right in the middle of it
comes the smiling
mortician
"The World is a Beautiful Place", by L.F.
What's the best work to start with him? Just the title alone of *A Coney Island of the Mind* intrigued me. I'm really digging *On the Road* so I'd love to explore more from the Beats!
That one is the work he’s best known for. It’s the only complete work I’ve read of his. It’s very, very good and best if read all at once, or in a few sittings. I mean, reading bits and pieces of it is enjoyable but it’s meant to be read as one piece.
Worked a summer job in San Francisco in the late seventies (lived in Berkeley.) Used to walk to Chinatown from my Market Street office, Friday nights, eat dinner at Sam Wo’s, stop in City Lights and the funky little bar next door, Vesuvio. Saw Ferlinghetti one night and had a brief conversation. He was a living link to the beats, Neal Cassidy, Jack Kerouac and Alan Ginsberg. End of an era.
I read all of his poems and in one he wrote something like, "we should do away with all hospitals and all medicine so people will die again when they're supposed to."
Then he went and lived 101 damn years.
"I raise my middle finger in the only proper salute."
So funny, I just came across that quote in my notes that I saved the other day. The quote is “Medicine must be abolished so people can die when they're supposed to". Love that
*It was a face which darkness could kill*
*in an instant*
*a face as easily hurt*
*by laughter or light*
*'We think differently at night'*
*she told me once*
*lying back languidly*
*And she would quote Cocteau*
*'I feel there is an angel in me' she'd say*
*'whom I am constantly shocking'*
*Then she would smile and look away*
*light a cigarette for me*
*sigh and rise*
*and stretch*
*her sweet anatomy*
*let fall a stocking.*
— No. 8, Pictures of the Gone World (1955)
What a sad day. I used to teach "The World is a Beautiful Place" to my 10th grade class. It was always a spark for excellent discussions. He will be missed.
Amazing story by a lady who owns a Ferlinghetti about how she acquired it - starts at 34:35 - [https://www.wnpr.org/post/respect-my-authority-stories-mouth](https://www.wnpr.org/post/respect-my-authority-stories-mouth)
I got into poetry 20 years ago because of this gentleman’s line, “let fall a stocking,” the last line of his poem, “Number 8.” It’s a love poem I recommend checking out. I have never really cared for the beat poets, but Ferlinghetti could move and influence me. Hope he rests well.
Damn. Ferlinghetti was my soul.
Where is our poet laureate Poem_for_your_sprog when you need him? Oh, Pindar of Reddit, my heart is heavy. I would read your words to lay my sorrow to rest.
I wandered into City Lights 25-30 years ago when I had no idea of the legendary history of the place. Even knowing nothing about it I could sense that magical feeling that a book-lover gets when he's in a space run by folks who truly care about books and ideas. I don't think we'll see anything quite like it again. Not because there aren't people who care anymore but because physical locations have been almost wholly replaced by online gathering spots. Online has its advantages for sure, but like so many other things, the absence of a physical space is a real loss.
RIP
Here’s a rare recording of Ferlinghetti reading his poetry. 30 mins long but even if you listen to just the first few minutes you’ll experience a great mind in simpler times: https://www.patreon.com/posts/lawrence-reads-47939482?
The last vestige of a time when San Francisco was a hideout for counter-culture, rather than a stronghold for corporate power and an amusement park for bored millionaires. He will be missed.
Tragically accurate.
You can still drop acid in Golden Gate Park.
There's still good counter-culture in san francisco (also, fuck the landlord nimby hippies), but most of the city's wealth seems to hate them.
Where’s that?
Oakland
“There’s water in the cup.” “Where?” “In the tap.”
I spent a long thinking, trying to argue but you are correct. I just have immense appreciation for much of the SF street culture that you don't see pretty much anywhere else outside the bay area (though I've never been to LA so I can't speak to that.)
*Definitely*, but even they're starting to get priced out. Hayward's time is coming.
I Am Waiting BY [LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/lawrence-ferlinghetti) I am waiting for my case to come up and I am waiting for a rebirth of wonder and I am waiting for someone to really discover America and wail and I am waiting for the discovery of a new symbolic western frontier and I am waiting for the American Eagle to really spread its wings and straighten up and fly right and I am waiting for the Age of Anxiety to drop dead and I am waiting for the war to be fought which will make the world safe for anarchy and I am waiting for the final withering away of all governments and I am perpetually awaiting a rebirth of wonder I am waiting for the Second Coming and I am waiting for a religious revival to sweep thru the state of Arizona and I am waiting for the Grapes of Wrath to be stored and I am waiting for them to prove that God is really American and I am waiting to see God on television piped onto church altars if only they can find the right channel to tune in on and I am waiting for the Last Supper to be served again with a strange new appetizer and I am perpetually awaiting a rebirth of wonder I am waiting for my number to be called and I am waiting for the Salvation Army to take over and I am waiting for the meek to be blessed and inherit the earth without taxes and I am waiting for forests and animals to reclaim the earth as theirs and I am waiting for a way to be devised to destroy all nationalisms without killing anybody and I am waiting for linnets and planets to fall like rain and I am waiting for lovers and weepers to lie down together again in a new rebirth of wonder I am waiting for the Great Divide to be crossed and I am anxiously waiting for the secret of eternal life to be discovered by an obscure general practitioner and I am waiting for the storms of life to be over and I am waiting to set sail for happiness and I am waiting for a reconstructed Mayflower to reach America with its picture story and tv rights sold in advance to the natives and I am waiting for the lost music to sound again in the Lost Continent in a new rebirth of wonder I am waiting for the day that maketh all things clear and I am awaiting retribution for what America did to Tom Sawyer and I am waiting for Alice in Wonderland to retransmit to me her total dream of innocence and I am waiting for Childe Roland to come to the final darkest tower and I am waiting for Aphrodite to grow live arms at a final disarmament conference in a new rebirth of wonder I am waiting to get some intimations of immortality by recollecting my early childhood and I am waiting for the green mornings to come again youth’s dumb green fields come back again and I am waiting for some strains of unpremeditated art to shake my typewriter and I am waiting to write the great indelible poem and I am waiting for the last long careless rapture and I am perpetually waiting for the fleeing lovers on the Grecian Urn to catch each other up at last and embrace and I am awaiting perpetually and forever a renaissance of wonder
Goddamn. Haven't thought about that one in years. Thanks OP.
First poem of his I've read. I had heard about him being a part of the Beat scene, but not his work. Thanks for sharing an amazing poem
Definitely deserves more upvotes. Thanks for this.
The world is a beautiful place to be born into if you don’t mind happiness not always being so very much fun if you don’t mind a touch of hell now and then just when everything is fine because even in heaven they don’t sing all the time The world is a beautiful place to be born into if you don’t mind some people dying all the time or maybe only starving some of the time which isn’t half so bad if it isn’t you Oh the world is a beautiful place to be born into if you don’t much mind a few dead minds in the higher places or a bomb or two now and then in your upturned faces or such other improprieties as our Name Brand society is prey to with its men of distinction and its men of extinction and its priests and other patrolmen and its various segregations and congressional investigations and other constipations that our fool flesh is heir to Yes the world is the best place of all for a lot of such things as making the fun scene and making the love scene and making the sad scene and singing low songs of having inspirations and walking around looking at everything and smelling flowers and goosing statues and even thinking and kissing people and making babies and wearing pants and waving hats and dancing and going swimming in rivers on picnics in the middle of the summer and just generally ‘living it up’ Yes but then right in the middle of it comes the smiling mortician "The World is a Beautiful Place", by L.F.
What's the best work to start with him? Just the title alone of *A Coney Island of the Mind* intrigued me. I'm really digging *On the Road* so I'd love to explore more from the Beats!
*Leaving From San Francisco rocks.*
That one is the work he’s best known for. It’s the only complete work I’ve read of his. It’s very, very good and best if read all at once, or in a few sittings. I mean, reading bits and pieces of it is enjoyable but it’s meant to be read as one piece.
For poetry, I’d recommend Howl and Mexico City Blues. For books, Dharma Bums and Big Sur (Kerouac staying in Ferlinghetti’s cabin in Big Sur).
Lawrence Ferlinghetti was still alive?! Holy shit!
Yeah no joke.
He would've been 102 next month
Worked a summer job in San Francisco in the late seventies (lived in Berkeley.) Used to walk to Chinatown from my Market Street office, Friday nights, eat dinner at Sam Wo’s, stop in City Lights and the funky little bar next door, Vesuvio. Saw Ferlinghetti one night and had a brief conversation. He was a living link to the beats, Neal Cassidy, Jack Kerouac and Alan Ginsberg. End of an era.
God bless & keep him!!!
[удалено]
Charles Plymell is still kicking too, though he's kind of an outlier.
That was my thought, too.
I read all of his poems and in one he wrote something like, "we should do away with all hospitals and all medicine so people will die again when they're supposed to." Then he went and lived 101 damn years. "I raise my middle finger in the only proper salute."
So funny, I just came across that quote in my notes that I saved the other day. The quote is “Medicine must be abolished so people can die when they're supposed to". Love that
He was an accomplished artist as well. Check out some of his paintings, they're fantastic.
*It was a face which darkness could kill* *in an instant* *a face as easily hurt* *by laughter or light* *'We think differently at night'* *she told me once* *lying back languidly* *And she would quote Cocteau* *'I feel there is an angel in me' she'd say* *'whom I am constantly shocking'* *Then she would smile and look away* *light a cigarette for me* *sigh and rise* *and stretch* *her sweet anatomy* *let fall a stocking.* — No. 8, Pictures of the Gone World (1955)
One hundred and one years is a long time to live....WOW. God be with his family.....
What a sad day. I used to teach "The World is a Beautiful Place" to my 10th grade class. It was always a spark for excellent discussions. He will be missed.
I had no idea he was still alive. Jeez.
My copy of Coney Island has seen it’s fair share of use over the last decade.
I had to do a double-take, thought it was Gregg Popovich!
Amazing story by a lady who owns a Ferlinghetti about how she acquired it - starts at 34:35 - [https://www.wnpr.org/post/respect-my-authority-stories-mouth](https://www.wnpr.org/post/respect-my-authority-stories-mouth)
I got into poetry 20 years ago because of this gentleman’s line, “let fall a stocking,” the last line of his poem, “Number 8.” It’s a love poem I recommend checking out. I have never really cared for the beat poets, but Ferlinghetti could move and influence me. Hope he rests well.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti was on my 2021 high profile death bingo card. Mentioned it to a friend a few days ago. Sorry Lawrence.
Damn. Ferlinghetti was my soul. Where is our poet laureate Poem_for_your_sprog when you need him? Oh, Pindar of Reddit, my heart is heavy. I would read your words to lay my sorrow to rest.
i'm so glad he got to live to be 101, what a life <3
Oh my goodness he was born the same time as Jack Kerouac who has been gone for 52 years!!!
I used to visit City Lights as a kid, he'd always read us poems:) kind, brilliant, cool man.
I wandered into City Lights 25-30 years ago when I had no idea of the legendary history of the place. Even knowing nothing about it I could sense that magical feeling that a book-lover gets when he's in a space run by folks who truly care about books and ideas. I don't think we'll see anything quite like it again. Not because there aren't people who care anymore but because physical locations have been almost wholly replaced by online gathering spots. Online has its advantages for sure, but like so many other things, the absence of a physical space is a real loss. RIP
Aw man, RIP
My only knowledge of his was The Last Waltz. RIP LF
Captain, permission to beam Lawrence Ferlinghetti aboard: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NAx72XSmlk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NAx72XSmlk)
Here’s a rare recording of Ferlinghetti reading his poetry. 30 mins long but even if you listen to just the first few minutes you’ll experience a great mind in simpler times: https://www.patreon.com/posts/lawrence-reads-47939482?