City Lights San Francisco
Whenever I go to a city, I check out the independent bookstores and make a point of visiting the ones I find intriguing. City Lights Bookstore is such a destination store. I located it on Google Maps and figured out how to get there by cable car and walking.
It took me about an hour to get there from where I was staying and by the time I got there, I was pretty worn out, however, as soon as I saw the sign out front, I knew I would love this place.
City Lights Books was founded in 1953 by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Peter D. Martin and is one of the great independent bookstores in the USA.
City Lights attracts booklovers from all around the world who come to browse, read, and soak up the inspiration from being in a literary landmark.
The sixties are alive in places like City Lights and tourists come to see where beatniks and hippies used to hang out. It was part of a political and social movement in the 60’s and many authors were at the forefront of a cultural revolution.
City Lights is world famous for its Beat Literature. “Where the streets of the world meet the avenues of the mind”
The Beat Poet’s legacy of anti-authoritarian politics and anarchical thinking continues to be be evident in the selection of titles. They have a wide selection ranging from poetry, translations, fictions, philosophy, history, politics, music and more, but most of the books reflect anti-authoritarian politics and agendas.
You get the sense of the history of the place as there photos and memorabilia scattered around to remind you of the past. This is definitely an indie bookstore, not your typical neighbourhood Barnes and Noble.
The basement is fun and it’s easy to get lost in the shelves that can almost be like a maze. People perch around the area browsing through books and helpful staff answer questions about everything.
This is a must visit for book lovers and those who could see themselves in the sixties attending readings by people such as Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and Ken Kesey.
The poetry room was my favorite with “The Poet’s Chair” rocking chair.
I bought a couple of books on writing and whiled away an hour here. When I go back to San Francisco in May, I’ll head back and linger again in this store that mades me feel like I was absorbing the literary history of the Beat generation.
Perhaps there’s a little hippy inside me after all!
If you’re ever in San Francisco and you’re a book lover, make sure you make it here.
#365adventure is a book lover’s year of adventures. Adventures in travel, friendship, family, soul, heart and, of course, book stores!
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