Poetry
A Coney Island of the Mind
Lawrence Ferlinghetti · 1958
Synopsis
Three sections. The first contains twenty-nine untitled, numbered poems: the first starts from Goya's scenes and arrives at America's highways and billboards. The second, “Oral Messages”, gathers seven poems written to be spoken with jazz, including “I Am Waiting”, in which a man lists what he is waiting for, “Christ Climbed Down” and “Dog”. The third takes up thirteen poems from a 1955 collection. The language is spoken, and the lines call for the voice.
Context
The title comes from Henry Miller, who writes “a Coney Island of the mind” in Black Spring: a state of mind rather than the Brooklyn amusement park. The book was published in 1958 by New Directions, the house founded by James Laughlin, and not in City Lights' pocket series. The French translation, published by Maelström in Brussels in 2008, keeps the English title.
Who it is for
Poems in spoken language, some of them conceived for voice and jazz. Translated into French in 2008.
Prizes and reception
About one million copies, making it one of the best-selling poetry collections.
Sources for this page 18
The pages consulted to check this page.