Before there was the 60’s, there was the Beat Generation, a literary movement that explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-war era. The central elements of the Beat culture were the rejection of standard narrative values, making a spiritual quest, the exploration of American and Eastern religions, the rejection of economic materialism, explicit portrayals of the human condition, experimentation with psychedelic drugs, and sexual liberation and exploration. The core group of the Beat Generation authors – Herbert Huncke, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, Lucien Carr, and Jack Kerouac – met in 1944 in and around the Columbia University campus in New York City.
Meanwhile, in 1953, at the height of the Beat Generation, two poets in San Francisco, a middle aged Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Peter D. Martin opened a small independent bookstore at the corner of Columbus Avenue and Adler Alley or Adler Place, now Jack Kerouac Alley, and named the bookstore City Lights Bookstore paying homage to the 1952 Charlie Chaplin film with the same name.
A couple years later, in 1955, Wally Hedrick ,a co-founder of the Six Gallery (formerly known as the King Ubu Gallery) at 3119 Fillmore Street, asks Ferlinghetti to organize a poetry reading at the Six Gallery, now known as the “Six Gallery Reading”. The event which took place on Friday, October 7, 1955, was advertised as “Six Poets at the Six Gallery” in which among other presenters, Ginsberg was to make his first public presentation of the “Howl”. The “Howl”, written by Allen Ginsberg from 1954-1955, was a controversial collection of poems due to its many references to illicit drugs and sexual practices, both heterosexual and homosexual. Not long after the Six Gallery Reading, in 1956 Ferlinghetti published Ginsberg’s controversial book the “Howl” which was promptly banned shortly after its publication. Ferlinghetti and the bookstore’s manager, Shigeyoshi Murao, were both arrested and charged with disseminating obscene literature, taking along with it the first amendment to trial. On October 3, 1957, Judge Clayton W. Horn ruled that the poem was not obscene, both Ferlinghetti and Murao were acquitted.
But change was already stirring in the air. The Beat generation had come out of the 50’s victorious even as their numbers were waning, the 60’s were on the horizons, and the City Lights Bookstore was born.
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Available Museum Quality Prints
MUSEUM QUALITY PRINTS can be purchased from any image on my website. If you just want a simple print that’s rolled in a tube, that’s great! If you want it framed, we’ll do that too! We also sell canvas prints, metal prints, and more. All of our premium papers and canvases are acid-free and, with proper care, will last for generations. Unframed prints are shipped in sturdy 1/4″ cardboard tubes and include a 1″ white border to allow for future matting and framing. Prints may also be shipped in flat packaging upon request. Pick your favorite art and photography from my website, and a museum-quality masterpiece will be on its way to you within 2 – 3 business days!
FRAMED PRINTS are offered in 230 frames and 100 mats which can be used to create museum-quality masterpieces from any image on my site! All framed prints are assembled, packaged, and shipped by our expert framing staff and arrive “ready to hang” with pre-attached hanging wire, mounting hooks, and nails. Pick your favorite art and photography from my site, and a museum-quality masterpiece will be on its way to you within 2 – 3 business days!
CANVAS PRINTS are printed on one of our premium canvases and then stretched on a wooden frame of 1.5″ x 1.5″ stretcher bars. All canvas prints are shipped “ready to hang” with a hanging wire, mounting hooks, and nails. Canvas prints are offered in two different wrap styles, three different border styles, and hundreds of frame options. Pick your favorite art and photography from my site, and a museum-quality masterpiece will be on its way to you within 2 – 3 business days!
METAL PRINTS are printed directly onto a sheet of 1/16″ thick aluminum! The aluminum sheet is offset from the wall by a 3/4″ thick wooden frame which is attached to the back. The wooden frame on the back of the print includes a hanging wire for easy mounting on your wall. All metal prints arrive “ready to hang” with mounting hooks and nails. Metal prints are extremely durable. They’re lightweight. They won’t bend, and they’re water resistant. The high gloss of the aluminum sheet complements the rich colors of any image to produce stunning results.
Return policy is very simple. If you're not happy with a purchase, for any reason, you can return it to us within 30 days of the order date. As soon as it arrives, we'll issue a full refund for the entire purchase price. Please note - we do not reimburse the outgoing or return shipping charges unless the return is due to a defect in quality. Pick HERE if you want to return a product now. Satisfaction Guarantee 877-807-5901
