R.I.P Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Over Sixty years ago, Ferlinghetti, was the principal publisher of an iconoclastic band of writers and poets known as the Beat Generation.  Ferlinghetti died on Monday at the age of 101.⁠

 Kenneth Atchity back in the day with Ferlinghetti and Bukowski.⁠ 

Ferlinghetti contributed "Dreamt Trip" to Ken's Dreamworks Quarterly Magazine Vol 1, No. 2 Dreams and Poetry.⁠

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‘You Never Had it – An Evening With Charles Bukowski’: New Trailer & Locations For Kino Lorber & Slamdance Documentary

New trailer for documentary You Never Had It – An Evening With Charles Bukowski, which will be released in North America on Kino Lorber’s Kino Marquee revenue share platform on August 7 to mark the centennial of Bukowski’s birth.

Kenneth Atchity with Charles Bukowski and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, co-founder of City Lights Bookstore

The distributor, which is releasing the film in collaboration with festival Slamdance, is lining up a virtual Q&A to accompany the virtual screening with special guests to be confirmed. Matteo Borgardt directed the documentary, which features lost footage of the cult writer in conversation with Italian journalist Silvia Bizio in 1981. During the evening, the two and others, including Bukowski’s soon-to-be wife Linda Lee Beighle, smoke cigarettes, drink wine and engage in intimate conversations about sex, literature, childhood and humanity. 

Bizio found the video of the interview in her garage in 2014, some 20 years after Bukowski’s death. The interview was shot on U-matic videotapes, which have been digitised and edited with new Super8 footage of Downtown Los Angeles as a backdrop to Bukowski reading poetry. 

U.S. markets set to virtually ‘launch’ the film next month include New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Portland, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Fort Worth, Albuquerque, Ann Arbor, Berkeley, Cleveland and Columbus. The feature originally debuted at Venice in 2016 and played at Slamdance in 2017 but didn’t have a broader release.

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Back in the day with Ferlinghetti and Bukowski!

Over Sixty years ago, Ferlinghetti, now 98, was the principal publisher of an iconoclastic band of writers and poets known as the Beat Generation. Today, he's still co-owner of City Lights, one of the most celebrated independent book stores in America. These are quieter days for the internationally acclaimed poet and painter. His eyes are going, but his mind and humor are sharp. 

Kenneth Atchity with  Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Charles Bukowski

Check out this wonderful 2015 NPR interview.

Kenneth Atchity with Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Charles Bukowski