Ferlinghetti's City Lights

When I stumbled upon City Lights Publishers's website and twitter account, I was really excited. Founded by beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, City Lights has been a feisty, fiercely independent press since 1953. I thought there could be no better way to kick off a study of publishers’ new media innovations than this major piece of the American cultural canon. After listening to their podcasts, I felt both inspired and disappointed.

The podcasts are wonderful; their first podcast features no other than Lawrence Ferlinghetti, himself, reading from his latest book, “Poetry as Insurgent Art". Ranging from national political satirists to poet laureates, their monthly podcasts continued to delight. My personal favorite was “ A celebration of Holderlin” which presented new translations, including one never before heard in English, from Nietzsche’s favorite poet.

So where was the disappointment? The website surprisingly did not feature a comment section. So when I listened to Holderlin’s idea that a poet's job was "to sing the traces of the fled gods", I had no place to talk about this striking idea. I sat, looking for a place to stuff my enthusiasm, while the sounds of the lively audience reached my ears.

As a child of beat poetry, City Lights prides themselves on engaging in and encouraging others to participate in our cultural discourse. Indeed, they succeed in motivating their audience. As they approach their first-year anniversary of podcasting, I hope they expand their website and give it the room not only to broadcast cultural discourse but to absorb it as well.