Lawrence Ferlinghetti papers, 1980-2020

Collection Information

Size: 3.3 Linear feet

Summary: The Lawrence Ferlinghetti papers measure 3.3 linear feet and date from 1980 to 2020. The papers document Ferlinghetti's career as a poet and artist through exhibition files, inventories, correspondence and other professional files; clippings, exhibition announcements, exhibition catalogs, and other printed material; sketches, sketchbooks, lithographs, and other artwork; and photographs and slides of Ferlinghetti and his artwork. There is a 0.3 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2023 that includes copy prints of images taken by Ferlinghetti during World War II made for an exhibition on Ferlinghetti at the Harvey Milk Photo Center in 2019. Also included are three reproductions from the photo book Splinter Fleet, 2018, used in the exhibition. Additional material includes a letter from Nancy Tucker to Lawrence Ferlinghetti, 2007; and six photographs of Ferlinghetti's Underwear series, circa 2000.

Biographical/Historical Note

Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919-2021) was a painter, poet, and activist in San Francisco, California. Ferlinghetti was born in Yokers, New York. He studied journalism at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and completed a Ph.D. in comparative literature at the University of Paris. In the 1950s, Ferlinghetti established City Lights, a publishing house in San Francisco. Ferlinghetti was also a poet writing in the vein of T. S. Eliot. Ferlinghetti painted throughout his lifetime and exhibited works throughout the United States. Ferlinghetti died in 2021.

Provenance

Donated in 2022 and 2023 by the Lawrence Ferlinghetti Artworks Trust via Joseph Sasser, Trustee.

Language Note

Some of the professional material and printed material are in Italian.

Location of Originals

• Original contact prints taken by Ferlinghetti are located at the Bancroft Libray, Berkeley.