A Rare Recording of Lawrence Ferlinghetti Reading His Own Poems

Lawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti (March 24, 1919 - February 22, 2021), born in Yonkers, NY, 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. The following recording includes Ferlinghetti reading the poems, Baseball Canto, Travels in America Deserta, See It Was Like This When, and Underwear.