City Lights founder riffed on event’s new name in 2002 poem

In 2002, Litquake invited Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the San Francisco poet and founder of City Lights Booksellers and Publishers, for a reading at the annual literary festival.

It was the third year of the fledgling fest, which had officially changed its name from Litstock. Ferlinghetti produced a new poem that, just as it recognized Litquake’s potential magnitude, endearingly poked fun at the new name.

Ferlinghetti was a friend of the festival; In 2010, Litquake awarded him its fourth Barbary Coast Award for his contributions to the local literary scene. While he couldn’t attend for health reasons, the Saturday night at Herbst Theatre was packed with the likes of Patti Smith, Tom Waits, Michael McClure and others.

Ferlinghetti died on Feb. 22 at age 101. As part of The Chronicle’s tribute to the late artist, festival organizers shared the 2002 poem:

Duke Downey / The Chronicle 1967 Lawrence Ferlinghetti poked fun at Litquake’s new name in a poem he wrote for a reading at the fledgling San Francisco literary festival in 2002.