Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the poet, liberal activist and co-founder of the City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco has died. He was 101 years old.Ferlinghetti and contemporaries like Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac played an integral role in the Beat Poetry movement…and in helping to spark gay liberation.
Born in New York, Ferlinghetti served in the Navy during World War II before relocating to San Francisco. There, he co-founded City Lights with Peter Martin in 1953.
Two years later, he bought out Martin’s share and became the sole owner of the shop.City Lights Booksellers played a crucial role in the emergence of modern American authors, as Ferlinghetti also operated an independent publishing service out of the bookstore.