“The World is a Beautiful Place.” I still have this poem memorized. I recited it at school. I was definitely the only student reciting beatnik poetry. “Coney Island of the Mind” was my first true love in poetry form. I knew after reading it on my lawn the spring of my Sophomore year in high school that I, too, would be a poet.
I drove to San Francisco after graduation to see City Lights Bookstore, writing piss-poor poetry along the way, pitching tents like Kerouac. Laurence Ferlinghetti’s poetry will forever be modern, creative, shocking, and awe-inspiring. He always took risks with his writing, and I aspire to be as fearless as him.





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