A Coney Island of the Mind: Poems [Paperback]

Lawrence Ferlinghetti (Author)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lawrence Ferlinghetti was born in Yonkers, New York, in 1919. After receiving an A.B. degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina, an M.A. from Columbia University, and a stint in the Navy during World War II, and after working in the mail room at Time Magazine and living in Paris where he received a Doctorat de l'Universite from the Sorbonne, Ferlinghetti eventually settled in San Francisco, where he and Peter D. Martin founded the first all-paperback bookstore in the country, City Lights Books. Besides being named San Francisco's first poet laureate, he has received The Before Columbus Foundation "Lifetime Achievement Award." Most recently he has also been writing a weekly column, “Poetry as News,” for the San Francisco Chronicle Book Review.

Product Details

• Paperback: 93 pages
• Publisher: New Directions (January 17, 1968)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811200418
• ISBN-13: 978-0811200417
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #49,321 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #9 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Single Authors > United States
  • #10 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > United States > Poetry
  • #16 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > United States > History & Criticism

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Coney Island, February 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: A Coney Island of the Mind: Poems (Paperback)

This was the first Ferlinghetti I ever got my hands on, and it swept me away into a world from which I have yet to return. The preciseness of his words and the incredible attention to detail make this book well worth the read. It made me fall in love with poetry...and the passion of the heart.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Beat Manifesto, December 10, 2000

By 

Randall Ivey "Randall" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Coney Island of the Mind: Poems (Paperback)

Let me start off by saying that, in the run of things, this type poetry is not my favorite. I'm more of a formalist myself, but I couldn't help but be impressed by much of this collection, which, along with Ginsberg's HOWL, kicked off the Beat Movement in American poetry in the 1950's.

This is largely a verbal collage, a compendium of memories, impressions, chants, lists, and lyric fragments. The influence of Whitman is apparent in the freeform meditations on the human body and the populist tone of much of the book. This is a cry for people to throw off the constraints of materialism and return to a simpler way of living. It exalts the earth over industry, art over commerce, individualism over uniformity. In other places the shadows of Eliot and Yeats can be seen; indeed in a couple of poems Ferlinghetti freely borrows from those masters - see "The Junkman'Obbligato", for instance, which echoes Eliot's "The Waste Land" with the repeated refrain "Hurry please it's time."

The book is divided into three sections. There is the title section then a series of seven pieces (including "Junkman") originally written for musical accompaniment and finally some selections from Ferlinghetti's first book PICTURES OF THE GONE WORLD.

Not for all tastes but seminal nevertheless and eye-opening as well.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real treat for the lover of words., October 14, 2000

By 

MLPlayfair (Ravenna, OH) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: A Coney Island of the Mind: Poems (Paperback)

AAAHHHHH! No one has ever topped Ferlinghetti for his exciting rhythm and electric presentation. Read this collection and discover how much FUN poetry can be. I first discovered these poems in the late '60s, an amazing time to be alive, and I felt that these poems captured some of that spirit uniquely and forever. What I didn't realize was that they also fit in perfectly with the '50s, and later in the '70s, the '80s, and the '90s, as well. And here we are in yet another century and the work holds up better than ever! Whatever you do, READ THEM ALOUD!