Iconic San Francisco bookstore closed by coronavirus may never reopen

By Alicia Victoria Lozano : nbcnews – excerpt

City Lights published the seminal poem “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg and became a gathering place for bohemians, but, like many small businesses, it is struggling.

NO NO NO NO NO, Note City Lights bookstore! And Lawrence Ferlinghetti just turned 101. That is a nasty birthday surprise.

A legendary San Francisco bookstore that gave voice to the Beat Generation may be forced to close its doors permanently as California’s sweeping coronavirus response takes its toll on small businesses.

City Lights Booksellers & Publishers was closed March 16, around the same time Gov. Gavin Newsom directed all nonessential businesses shuttered to prevent the virus from spreading. Online orders aren’t being processed, either, to try to protect employees, said longtime publisher and CEO Elaine Katzenberger, and as a result, no money is coming in.

On Thursday, Katzenberger launched a fundraising campaign to keep the business afloat. The money would go toward paying the full salaries and benefits of City Lights’ 20 employees, she said.

“Our legacy looms large, but we’re a small business like any other,” Katzenberger said. “It just became obvious that we had to do it.”

The GoFundMe campaign had raised nearly $60,000 of its $300,000 goal by Thursday evening…(more)

UPDATE: LOOKS LIKE CITY LIGHTS WILL SURVIVE thanks to gofundme!

https://www.gofundme.com/f/aeany-keep-city-lights-books-alive/campaign/gallery/0?viewupdates=1&rcid=r01-158681748223-9bd7b62bfd4f4b0b&utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_email%2B1137-update-supporters-v5b

Pioneering San Francisco poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti turns 100 this month

by Alisa Scerrato : hoodline – excerpt

The curious linger in Kerouac Alley between the City Lights Bookstore and Vesuvio

This month, renowned poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the co-founder of North Beach’s City Lights Bookstore, will celebrate his 100th birthday.

To mark the occasion, Mayor London Breed has officially proclaimed the poet’s birthday, March 24th, as Lawrence Ferlinghetti Day. But throughout the month of March, North Beach neighbors will be celebrating the milestone, as well as the publication of his new book, Little Boy.

A pre-Beat, bohemian voice, Ferlinghetti helped to spark the city’s famed 1950s literary scene. Born in Yonkers, New York, he studied and worked in North Carolina, New York City and Paris before moving to San Francisco in 1950, where he painted, taught French and wrote art criticism before co-founding City Lights with Peter D. Martin in 1953.

His most famous collection of poems, 1958’s A Coney Island of the Mind, has sold over a million copies. But Ferlinghetti isn’t just a poet: he’s also composed theatrical works, art criticism, essays, film narration and translations… (more)