The Beat Goes on

Writers are to Paris what breathing is to living. The continual pilgrimage of poets, authors, journalists, would-be Balzacs and scribblers from every corner of the globe to the City of Light is testimony of the inspiration this beautiful city inspires in the creative spirit. Paris, ripe with museums, statues, and monuments dedicated to the memory of its writers, has been home to and has held a special place in the hearts of such luminaries as Lawrence Ferlinghetti, James Baldwin, Ernest Hemingway, Emile Zola, Polly Platt, David Sedaris and Jake Lamar. From the dusty aisles of Shakespeare and Company Bookshop near Notre Dame Cathedral, to the busts that litter the stunning Luxembourg Gardens, Paris is a living monument to generations of writers whose inspiration continues to surge. From Paris, our Senior Editor explores writers living and dead, along with the city that served – and continues to serve – as the backdrop to some of their greatest artistic achievement. Lawrence Ferlinghetti, famous poet, painter, publisher, and owner of one of America’s most well-known bookstores earned his doctoral degree in poetry at the Sorbonne in Paris. Ferlinghetti’s City Lights bookstore, named after the Charlie Chaplin movie, still stands in its original location in San Francisco’s North Beach. Respected as one of the most important poets in the Beat movement, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, born in Yonkers, New York, was raised in France by a female relative. He did not speak English, however, until he returned to America at the age of five. In the late 1920’s Ferlinghetti began writing poetry during his years at boarding school. A copy of Baudelair’s poems given to him by his caretaker, Sally Bisland, inspired his love for literature. In World War II, Ferlinghetti joined the Navy and became a Lieutenant Commander. After the war, he, like many other American expats, took advantage of the G. I. Bill and went to college. He received a Master of Arts in 1948 from Columbia University. Ferlinghetti later went to the Sorbonne University of Paris, where he obtained his Ph.D. in Creative Writing. It was during this time abroad that he met other writers such as Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Dylan Thomas, as well as other “Beat Generation” poets and writers. The Beat generation was a small group of writers that gradually came to represent a period in time. Their moment of recognition began with a poetry reading in San Francisco. While the Beat sub-culture was one of the most creative and explosive times in postmodern literature, today it is looked upon as a very distinguished period. Lawrence Ferlinghetti remains its most celebrated writer and his work is still widely read and admired today. Paris had a special allure for the writers of the Beat movement, partly because of its discernible art and culture; the museums, theaters, glorious gardens and outdoor cafes blended beautifully with the Beat’s creative energy.  Although the Beat days are over Lawrence Ferlinghetti and City Lights bookstore are still going strong. And in the summer of 2002, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and George Whitman (current owner of Shakespeare and Company books) celebrated their combined centennial of their sister bookstores in Paris this summer. Christiann Anderson is the co-author of Paris Reflections: Walks through African American Paris (McDonald & Woodward, 2002.) and writes a column on Living Single in Paris for The Paris Woman Journal and Cafe de la Soul (www.pariswoman.com, www.cafedelasoul.com)