An Independent Bookstore Founded By Poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti As A Literary Meeting Place That Later Also Became A Publishing Company
“Walk in and the quirky and typical San Francisco funkiness hits you. Odd angles, weird stairs going off in all directions... In the basement you can look up and see brick archways and little round glass blocks [that] let you know you're under the sidewalk. This could not be done in these modern times. Much of this, or all of it, is grandfathered [in] as it would never be allowed or pass code or building inspection now. It's almost untouched from the Kerouac and Ginsberg days – or at least it feels that way.”
That was just one of the many reviews of City Lights Bookstore, an offbeat, eccentric bookstore that is often intertwined with the rich beatnik heritage of North Beach. From unique, cozy, hipster décor to collections of underground 'zines, City Lights Bookstore embodies the beat culture it’s best known for (of course, there is an entire selection of works by famous beatniks about religion, rejection of materialism, psychedelic drugs, sexual liberation and social and cultural observations).
“The writing of the beat generation is part of a lot of people's coming of age,” said Vice President of City Lights Publishing Stacey Lewis. “They're some of the first authors to write in a successful way about sexual politics, social politics.” It's this rich history that makes City Lights Bookstore a place of pilgrimage for many people.
City Lights Bookstore is an independent bookstore founded in 1953 by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti as a “literary meeting place.” Ferlinghetti launched City Lights Publishers two years later, the bookstore-publisher combination making it feel “as if the public were being invited, in person and in books, to participate in that 'great conversation' between authors of all ages, ancient and modern.”
“Often concerned with politics and social issues, Ferlinghetti's poetry countered the literary elite's definition of art and the artist's role in the world,” reads the bookstore's history. “Though imbued with the commonplace, his poetry cannot be simply described as polemic or personal protest, for it stands on his craftsmanship, thematics, and grounding in tradition.”
It was Ferlinghetti and City Lights that sparked a landmark First Amendment case, which established a legal precedent for the publication of “controversial work with redeeming social importance.” In 1956, Ferlinghetti was arrested for obscenity charges for publishing Allen Ginsberg's “Howl & Other Poems,” (which started: “I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness/ starving hysterical naked / dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix / angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night.”). The trial that followed drew national attention to the San Francisco Renaissance and beat movement writers, with Ferlinghetti heavily supported by literary and academic figures before being acquitted.
There is more rich history, many awards, many published works of all kinds that lead the City Lights Bookstore to where it is now, a seemingly unchanged hipster hangout that refuses to carry NY Times Best Sellers and instead carries unknown newspapers from different states and self-made political 'zines.
That 'zine nook is on the main floor. The main floor also has a huge assortment of fiction with tons of books by American authors (including over 200 books from City Lights Publishers), a section for European authors and another room with books by authors from all over the world. The top floor is dedicated to poetry and a large selection of beat generation works.
“The entire basement level floor is devoted to nonfiction,” notes Lewis. “There's a real array of topics from history and other expected topics to 'evidence.' That's for people interested in true crime and strange phenomena. There's [also] a cultural studies section and sections a bout eastern and western religions. There's music, philosophy and drama. We're focused on the humanities. That's big for people in the Bay area. There's not any books about business or finances.”
The very specific book selection is another reason that the City Lights Bookstore is unique. To go along with Ferlinghetti's original taste and preferences, the bookstore remains devoted to that hipster, beatnik vibe that made the bookstore what it is today. Cluttered, cozy and warm, the bookstore still has the “meeting place” vibe from the 50s, seeming more like a place where artists gather to be inspired, rather than a place where people purchase products. “There's a lot of vibes here,” continues Lewis. “It's a matter of people throughout the years being committed to Ferlinghetti's vision and continuing to buy books of that nature.”
The dedication to history and its roots makes City Lights Bookstore an important part of the Bay's history. It's also a huge tourist destination, not only for its unique atmosphere and interesting connections, but because it's fun. The staff is warm and welcoming. They're into it. It's open until midnight every day (“unusual for a bookstore”), allowing people to shop, go out to dinner, have a drink and then come to City Lights Bookstore late at night to find out more about Buddhism, LSD, social justice movements and the sexual revolution. There's no better way to end a night out.
Olivia Richman
A graduate of East Connecticut State University in Journalism, Olivia has written for Stonebridge Press & Antiques Marketplace among others. She enjoys writing, running and video games.
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