Collection Guide
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Ferlinghetti (Lawrence) Artwork and Papers
MS.256
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
University of California, Santa Cruz
Title: Lawrence Ferlinghetti artwork and papers
Creator:
Ferlinghetti, Lawrence
Identifier/Call Number: MS.256
Physical Description:
46 Linear Feet
7 flat boxes, 3 roll boxes, 5 photo boxes, 4 cartons, 5 oversize
canvas paintings, 4 map case drawers
Date (inclusive): 1944-2005
Language of Material:
English .
This collection is partially processed and is open for research. Audiovisual media is
unavailable until reformatted. Contact Special Collections and Archives in advance to
request access to audiovisual media.
This collection is arranged in six series:
- Series 1: Paintings and drawings
- Series 2: Sketches
- Series 3: Photographs
- Series 4: Posters
- Series 5: Media
- Series 6: Unprocessed materials
Lawrence Ferlinghetti was a poet, writer, artist, and proprietor of San Francisco bookstore
and publishing house City Lights Books. Born in 1919, he was the author of "A Coney Island
of the Mind" (1958), one of best selling poetry volumes in American history. In the 1950s,
Ferlinghetti published Allen Ginsberg's hallucinatory anti-establishment manifesto "Howl"
and subsequently stood trial on obscenity charges. City Lights Books, and Ferlinghetti
himself, became closely associated with the Beat poets and the San Francisco counterculture
of the mid to late 20th century. Ferlinghetti passed away on February 22, 2021, at the age
of 101.
Source: Brown, Emma. "Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Literary Citadel of San Francisco, Dies at
101." The Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2021.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti artwork and papers. MS256. Special Collections and Archives,
University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz.
Preliminary processing and inventory work done by Maureen Carey and Special Collections
staff, circa 2000s. Poster inventory completed by Belinda Egan, 2019. Legacy inventories
compiled and finding aid created by Alix Norton, 2021.
Broadsides, books, and other materials donated to the library by Ferlinghetti can be found
by searching UCSC Library Search for "Gift of Lawrence Ferlinghetti".
This collection contains paintings, drawings, and sketches by Lawrence Ferlinghetti,
ranging from small pieces to oversized paintings of over six feet wide. Also included are
posters collected by Ferlinghetti and of his events, and some photographs of Ferlinghetti
taken by Leigh Weiner. Unprocessed materials include brochures, programs, and flyers from
events, newspapers, and some correspondence; color transparencies and slides, negatives, and
photographic prints; and audio and video cassettes.
Copyright for the items in this collection is owned by the creators and their heirs.
Reproduction or distribution of any work protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair
use requires permission from the copyright owner. It is the responsibility of the user to
determine whether a use is fair use, and to obtain any necessary permissions. For more
information see UCSC Special Collections and Archives policy on Reproduction and Use.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
American poetry -- 20th century
Painting, American -- 20th
century
Poets, American -- 20th
century
Exhibitions
Ferlinghetti, Lawrence