Description:

Director Christopher Felver has crafted an incisive, sharply wrought portrait of American poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti that explores his vital role as catalyst for numerous literary careers and for the Beat movement itself. Interviews with Ferlinghetti and other significant figures reveal a rich mélange of characters and events that unfolded in postwar America, including the publication of Allen Ginsberg's Howl, William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch, and Jack Kerouac's On the Road. In 1953 Ferlinghetti opened City Lights Bookstore, which quickly evolved into an iconic institution symbolizing social change and literary freedom. Six decades later, it remains a cornerstone of America's literary and cultural history.