Lawrence Ferlinghetti wins Literarian Award
Green Beat poet first to receive new honor from National Book Foundation

In the interview that legendary Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti granted the New York Times Magazine for its Nov. 6, 2005 issue, Deborah Solomon asked if he was a Democrat. "No," he replied. "I am a member of the Green Party."

Later in November, the National Book Foundation awarded the poet and social activist a new honor, The Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community. This award recognizes Ferlinghetti's tireless work on behalf of poets and the entire literary community for over 50 years. 

"Through his publishing and book selling at City Lights Books in San Francisco, his inspiration of the Beats, his steady publication and coverage of poets both classic and avant-garde, Ferlinghetti has been a major force and an inspiration in the literary world," said Harold Augenbraum, executive director of the Foundation. "He has always pushed the edges of the literary envelope and has been unwavering in his commitment to literature." 

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Ferlinghetti's legal defense of Allen Ginsberg's Howl, one of the most important publishing events in American literary history.

Born in Yonkers, N.Y. in 1919, Ferlinghetti graduated from the University of North Carolina, received an M.A. from Columbia University and a doctoral degree in poetry at the Sorbonne in Paris. He served in the Navy in World War II.

In 1953 he founded, with Peter D. Martin, City Lights Books in San Francisco, the first all-paperbound bookstore in the country. He continues to operate the store from its original location, and it has remained one of the truly great independent bookstores, a beacon for alternative culture. In 1955, Ferlinghetti launched City Lights Publishers with the now-famous Pocket Poet Series, which included work by William Carlos Williams, Allen Ginsberg, Kenneth Patchen, and Antonin Artaud as well as his own works. 

Ferlinghetti published Allen Ginsberg's Howl as Pocket Poets Number Four, for which he was tried on obscenity charges. He was declared innocent, a landmark victory for free speech. The press continues today and is distinguished for its commitment to innovative and progressive ideas.

The author of more than 30 books of poetry, Ferlinghetti's poems employ plain language, and they remain tremendously popular with a wide range of readers. In 1958 he published A Coney Island of the Mind, which has remained one of the best-selling poetry books of our time. He is also the author of more than eight plays and of several novels. He was named San Francisco's first poet laureate in 1998 and in 2000 received the lifetime achievement award from the National Book Critics Circle. Ferlinghetti also writes a weekly column about poetry for the San Francisco Chronicle.

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