I GREET YOU AT THE BEGINNING OF A GREAT CAREER

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I GREET YOU AT THE BEGINNING OF A GREAT CAREER

Name: I GREET YOU AT THE BEGINNING OF A GREAT CAREER
Author: Lawrence Ferlinghetti
ISBN: 978-0-87286-686-7

THE SELECTED CORRESPONDENCE OF LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI AND ALLEN GINSBERG, 1955-1997

by Lawrence Ferlinghetti & Allen Ginsberg ; edited by Bill Morgan ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 15, 2015

A good primer to convince readers who have not experienced the work of Ferlinghetti and Ginsberg to give them a try.

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Literary archivist Morgan (Beat Atlas: A State by State Guide to the Beat Generation in America, 2011, etc.) collects the correspondence of Ferlinghetti (Blasts Cries Laughter, 2014, etc.) and Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997), beginning with Ginsberg’s first publication Howl and Other Poems (1955).

Limiting his comments to background information, Morgan lets Ginsberg’s personality emerge above and beyond what his poetry reveals. In addition to his work as a leading poet and painter, Ferlinghetti founded City Lights Books in San Francisco, a haven for beat poets and other countercultural writers. Their relationship, during which he published much of Ginsberg’s work, lasted for the next 25 years. The letters are a perfect picture of the San Francisco Renaissance and the rise of the beat poets, with Ginsberg at the top of the heap. Not only was he the best, but Ginsberg also knew everyone and their work. He ceaselessly recommended writers to Ferlinghetti, who tended away from the Buddhist-inspired poets toward the more European-inspired ones. While there is some discussion of editing problems, these letters are much more tuned to both men’s work, the “hip” generation that experimented with drugs and the poetry that was influenced by their use. The big New York publishers often tried to lure Ginsberg away, but Ferlinghetti’s defense of Howl and Other Poems against obscenity charges ensured Ginsberg’s loyalty, as well as their friendship. Ginsberg was not only a poet; he was a world traveler who kept copious journals, many of which were later printed. He was also totally honest about his drug use and noted which works were accomplished under the effect of a specific substance. Having some familiarity with both men’s work is actually unnecessary, as their lives and outlooks come through in this compilation of their correspondence.

A good primer to convince readers who have not experienced the work of Ferlinghetti and Ginsberg to give them a try.

Pub Date: June 15, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-87286-686-7

Page Count: 292

Publisher: City Lights

Review Posted Online: March 31, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2015

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
WRITING ACROSS THE LANDSCAPE
by Lawrence Ferlinghetti ; edited by Giada Diano Matthew Gleeson

- BOOK REVIEW
HOW TO PAINT SUNLIGHT
by Lawrence Ferlinghetti

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.