Ferlinghetti: A Rebirth of Wonder

Only time will tell if Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and his Beat poet cohorts, wrote timeless words during the hip-swiveling Elvis era.At best, Ferlinghetti, and the Beats, are a sign of the times, 1950s; At worse, he and his crowd are simply, pretentious light-paper-weight fluff stuff. This doc, directed by Christopher Felver, makes a strong case for Ferlinghetti's poetry tour de force, his poetic oomph. In a nutshell, this doc reflects his life. At 96 years old, he has lived a bountiful life, indeed; he has seen many roads. From World War II, man on the moon, to pop culture icons like Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, JD Salinger, Michael Jackson to cable TV, Ferlinghetti has lived through it all. And this doc shows he's still here, living the here and now at 96. Quite remarkable.Now, after all these years, he's on this video A Rebirth of Wonder, recorded in 2009. To say the least, Ferlinghetti is quite amazing as detailed in this doc. Plus he's a highly talented poet. He's a clever, profound wordsmith.Presently, at 96, he's still connected to his City Lights bookstore, and its publishing company, both based in San Francisco, his home turf. He never quits living as this documentary aptly shows. He's a relic, and at the same time, he's not a relic. He's still sassy, rambunctious, filled with a devil-may-care attitude. This doc shows, and describes it all: how in the heck he got here, and why he is not leaving?So impressed with this doc, I looked up his poems. Upon reading a few, I stopped in awe. He's a poet of ideas. A very talented one. Some poets rhyme madly; he thinks madly. He's an original treasure in American culture. He's the type of dude who will tell the emperor he's wearing no clothes. Sassy guts. As a poet, it works for him.In the long run, nonetheless, good poetry is timeless. Shakespeare is timeless, Arthur Rimbaud is timeless, Shelley is timeless, Is Ferlinghetti timeless, this doc claims he is. Who knows? Only time will tell.At 96, he would still have to wait a long time to find out how transcendent his poems truly are. This doc, however, lends support to his poetic gift. This doc interviewed fellow talented poets like Billy Collins, Michael McClure and Amiri Baraka. Plus pop culture icons poet/songwriter Bob Dylan, and 60s, 70s movie actor Dennis Hopper. All lavish praise upon him.Overall, this doc is more about Ferlinghetti than the Beats. Allen Ginsburg, Jack Kerouac, Gregory Corso are mentioned. Though, with reason, none of them are interviewed. Those Beats are long gone from this mortal coil. None have lived as long as Ferlinghetti. He has outlived all of them. He beat the Beats in life longevity.That makes Ferlinghetti the king of the Beats. Long live the king. Nevertheless, by himself without the Beats, he is an interesting man. That combined with the Beats, he has an interesting past. Interesting enough to dedicate a documentary to his legacy.Overall, watching this doc was a wonder. It was a rebirth of wonder, since I had thought the 50s were long gone, faded away in yesteryear, nostalgia memory lane. This doc, however, stirred, in me, a want to watch Elvis Presley videos to experience the 50s.I wanted to see what life was like back them, when the new culture was still new: when both, Elvis and Marilyn wiggled their hips. All seen on the screen. And Ferlinghetti was there. And is still here, circa 2015. Quite an amazing poet and documentary.

This is a beautifully crafted film tells the story of the great poet and national treasure Laurence Ferlinghetti through the eyes of so many that knew him well.

While inevitably associated with the Beats, Lawrence Ferlinghetti's life has encompassed far more than that influential literary & cultural movement, to which he contributed so much. In this fine documentary, Ferlinghetti's overall life & work are introduced to the general viewer in loving detail. I've been a devotee since my discovery of his seminal "A Coney Island of the Mind" nearly 50 years ago; but in this film I learned a lot that I hadn't known about the man, particularly about his early life. What a story in itself! Dickens might have written such twists & turns -- and these illuminate the path Ferlinghetti's life would take in the following decades.But the major part of the film is more than mere biography, however fascinating. What we're given is a real sense of the man: his work not only as poet & publisher, but as painter, political activist, and cultural critic. What's especially striking is his warmth & sense of humor, which he often uses to make some scathing political points, but which seems to be an essential part of the man & his full-hearted engagement with life & art. His history with both the Beats & the counterculture is given considerable examination, as that's what most people will undoubtedly think of first. But as we see, there's always been a lot more going on ... and still is, even as Ferlinghetti ages well into his 90s. And it's clear that he has indeed aged well. We should all have such grace & humor as we grow older!Of course the immediate audience for this film will be followers of the Beats, the avant-garde, the counterculture. But the viewer who knows little or nothing of such things should also find it quite compelling in its portrait of an individual, someone who has lived as honestly & creatively as any man could hope to do. I hesitate to use a hackneyed word like "inspirational" but in this case it really does apply -- not mawkish, saccharine "inspiration" but the real thing, encouraging viewers to pursue art & beauty on their own, and to enlarge their own lives.Most highly recommended!

This is a very good documentary about Ferlinghetti. I read a couple of his books years ago but hadn't really kept up with him and didn't know he was so political. It is quite amazing that he has kept City Lights Bookstore and Publishing up for so long. Some of Ferlinghetti's paintings are also shown as well as much poetry read. I would recommend this to anyone interested in the Beats or poetry in general as Ferlinghetti has really kept this indispensable and yet often ignored aspect of culture alive. Actually I would like to have heard a little more about Ferlinghetti's political and philosophical views as what is here is very intriguing.

I have been a passionate fan of Ferlinghetti and Beat literature since college and now I enjoy sharing this enthusiasm with our grandchildren!This is a fabulous and comprehensive and moving documentary. What fun to see Ferlinghetti's cabin at Big Sur and to revisit his special friends such as Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, Michael McClure, and Jack Kerouac! Ferlinghetti's landmark poem "Rebirth of Wonder" inspired us to completely change our lives twice and continues to inspire us to embrace creativity!

The world deserves to have a Ferlinghetti documentary created and produced by the artist with whom Ferlinghetti has traveled and travailed the globe for decades. This movie proves what anyone who has crossed paths with Felver soon realizes...he is truly a master photographer and filmmaker.

Love all the stuff that that era of poets and writers did, and I've only read some of them. Much thanks to Ferlinghetti for opening up City Lights Book store to bring all these people out in the open for generations to read.