Western Civilization has been in a state of decline since the Edwardian age, say 1910. That was the height of Greco-Roman European civilization. Then there was the First World War. That was the beginning of the end. That civilization has… — Lawrence Ferlinghetti Copy Share Image
I arrived in San Francisco in January 1951. After the Second World War, the population was so uprooted. Soldiers came back home for brief periods and took off again. So the population was very fluid, and suddenly it was as… — Lawrence Ferlinghetti Copy Share Image
“I am waiting for the meek to be blessed and inherit the earth... without taxes” — Lawrence Ferlinghetti Copy Share Image
We have to raise the consciousness; the only way poets can change the world is to raise the consciousness of the general populace. — Lawrence Ferlinghetti Copy Share Image
I didn’t know that painters and writers retired. They’re like soldiers – they just fade away. — Lawrence Ferlinghetti Copy Share Image
I certainly was surprised to be named Poet Laureate of this far-out city on the left side of the world, and I gratefully accept,… — Lawrence Ferlinghetti Copy Share Image
Paperbacks weren't considered real books in the book trade. Up till then it was just murder mysteries, potboilers, 25-cent pocket books sold in newsstands.… — Lawrence Ferlinghetti Copy Share Image
The real literary editors have mostly been fired. Those that remain are all ottom line editors; everything depends on the money. — Lawrence Ferlinghetti Copy Share Image
“Cast up the heart flops over gasping 'Love' a foolish fish which tries to draw its breath from flesh of air And no one… — Lawrence Ferlinghetti Copy Share Image
The paintings may communicate even better because people are lazy and they can look at a painting with less effort than they can read… — Lawrence Ferlinghetti Copy Share Image
Poetry can change the world, just like any art can change the world, by changing consciousness. Of course this was the great slogan of… — Lawrence Ferlinghetti Copy Share Image
Almost every truly creative being alienated & expatriated in his own country — Lawrence Ferlinghetti Copy Share Image
