I came across and purchased a book a few days ago by the famous/infamous poet and rabble rouser Lawrence Ferlinghetti. He was front and centre of the San Francisco beat and hippie scene starting back in the 1950s. This is not a book of his poetry but rather his take on what poetry is. The book is a high-quality Spanish production that also features one of Barcelona’s highest profile artists, Frederic Amat. What a combination!
What is Poetry?: Lawrence Ferlinghetti text; Frederic Amat art; Carla Zarebska publisher;
Saura-Torrente graphic design; Zare Books and Anansi International, 2010. Printed in
Barcelona.
Ferlinghetti’s text consists of almost 200 one sentence definitions of poetry, poems and poets. Amat’s artwork often covers two pages, some in black and white and some in colour.
Lawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti (1919 – 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. Lawrence Ferlinghetti was a longtime friend of Jack Kerouac, most famously letting Kerouac use his cabin at Bixby Canyon, where Kerouac wrote his novel Big Sur.
Frederic Amat i Noguera ( born Barcelona , May 15, 1952) is a Catalan visual artist and stage
designer. In 2007, he was awarded the National Prize for Visual Arts of Catalonia , granted by
the Catalan Government in recognition of the exhibition held at the Carles Taché Gallery ,
which brought together his entire body of work: paintings, sculptures, and multimedia
installations.
And here they are together:
And here are some samples of Ferlinghetti’s definitions and Amat’s art.
Poetry is the truth that reveals all lies, the face without mascara.
Poems are burning bows, poems are arrows of desire, poetry gives words to the heart.
The morning dove mourning night is my delight.
Poetry is the ultimate inner refuge.
Poetry can be the bluegrass of literature, recalling us to down-home beginnings.
Poetry the supreme fiction.
Poems fulfill longings and put life back together again.
Poetry is Van Gogh’s ear echoing with all the blood of the world.
Poetry the primary conductor of emotion.
It is a firefly of the imagination.
Poetry is eternal graffiti in the heart of everyone.
Poetry is the essence of ideas before they are distilled into thought.
Poetry is worth nothing and therefore priceless.
Poetry the underwear of the soul.
Prose masquerading in the typography of poetry is not poetry.
In poetry, trees, beasts, and humans talk.
Poetry is a plant that grows at night to give name to desire.
Poetry the last lighthouse in rising seas.
In retrospect, this book is one long poem by the master Ferlinghetti!