Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Ferlinghetti in 1965
BornLawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti
(1919-03-24)March 24, 1919
Yonkers, New York, U.S.
DiedFebruary 22, 2021(2021-02-22) (aged 101)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Occupation
  • Poet
  • activist
  • essayist
  • painter
  • publisher
Alma mater
Literary movementBeat poetry
Years active1940s–2021
Spouse
Selden Kirby-Smith
(m. 19511976)
Children2

Lawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti (March 24, 1919 – February 22, 2021) was an American poet, painter, social activist, and co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers. An author of poetry, translations, fiction, theatre, art criticism, and film narration, Ferlinghetti was best known for his second collection of poems, A Coney Island of the Mind (1958), which has been translated into nine languages and sold over a million copies. When Ferlinghetti turned 100 in March 2019, the city of San Francisco turned his birthday, March 24, into "Lawrence Ferlinghetti Day".