“While Lawrence Ferlinghetti certainly deserves all of the accolades he’s received, the fact of the matter is there would literally be no City Lights without Nancy Peters.”
From left: Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Nancy J. Petters
Beyond shepherding City Lights through various fiscal crises and providing the steady anchor that allowed Ferlinghetti to travel the world as a poet and activist, Nancy’s vision as an editor and acumen as a publisher were a vital key to the success and longevity of City Lights Publishers.“
This is a superb report, from a lady who lived in the City Lights Bookstore Trenches for a quarter of a century!
I also enjoyed the excellent descending aerial shot showing City Lights Location in San Francisco.
And of course, the video reminded me of my own unforgettable visit to City Lights in the early 1990s.
The video also suggests to me that the City Lights Bookstore will probably outlive all of us!
Thank you, Jan for a wonderful excursion in the past, the present and the future.
William Cody Mahersays
What a great video, I loved City Lights. I spent endless hours night and day early morning till midnight when not walking the hills I was sitting at those little tables upstairs reading poems or street level with novels when I was not visiting the bars or doing my various valet car parking stints in all the North Beach restaurants or Pacific Heights private parties and then rushing in a few minutes before closing to read a poem. Nancy was tough. I also never got close. She did agree with Lawrence to publish a little chapbook of mine that was part of the Accordian Series. I once wrote a kind of love poem for City Lights. I have it somewhere. I never stole a book from there. I didn’t know you passed the job on to her. So we must have just missed meeting each other back then. I hope the spirit of City Lights will live a longer life than the tourist attraction here in Berlin at Check Point Charlie. A sad joke. There is an old worn out saying “I was There” There is truth to it but life moves on. An my bottle of champagne is empty and tonight I am alone. Great little video!
This is a superb report, from a lady who lived in the City Lights Bookstore Trenches for a quarter of a century!
I also enjoyed the excellent descending aerial shot showing City Lights Location in San Francisco.
And of course, the video reminded me of my own unforgettable visit to City Lights in the early 1990s.
The video also suggests to me that the City Lights Bookstore will probably outlive all of us!
Thank you, Jan for a wonderful excursion in the past, the present and the future.
What a great video, I loved City Lights. I spent endless hours night and day early morning till midnight when not walking the hills I was sitting at those little tables upstairs reading poems or street level with novels when I was not visiting the bars or doing my various valet car parking stints in all the North Beach restaurants or Pacific Heights private parties and then rushing in a few minutes before closing to read a poem. Nancy was tough. I also never got close. She did agree with Lawrence to publish a little chapbook of mine that was part of the Accordian Series. I once wrote a kind of love poem for City Lights. I have it somewhere. I never stole a book from there. I didn’t know you passed the job on to her. So we must have just missed meeting each other back then. I hope the spirit of City Lights will live a longer life than the tourist attraction here in Berlin at Check Point Charlie. A sad joke. There is an old worn out saying “I was There” There is truth to it but life moves on. An my bottle of champagne is empty and tonight I am alone. Great little video!