Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
52nd out of 977 books
—
1,010 voters
A Coney Island of the Mind
The title of this book is taken from Henry Miller's "Into the Night Life" and expresses the way Lawrence Ferlinghetti felt about these poems when he wrote them during a short period in the 1950's - as if they were, taken together, a kind of Coney Island of the mind, a kind of circus of the soul.
Paperback, 96 pages
Published
January 17th 1968
by New Directions Publishing Corporation 74 (NY)
(first published 1958)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
http://www.litkicks.com/Texts/ConeyIs...
There really was a candystore though you weren’t gonna get anything for a penny and besides we had our own forms of candy at sixteen. It was an ancient two-storey house painted a candyapple red that flaked away revealing slates of dull knotted wood. The metaphor was lost on me then.
The house was surrounded by apple trees and an overgrown dirt path led
into the penumbra of a backyard that the world had seemingly forgotten so wild was it in its teeming fol...more
There really was a candystore though you weren’t gonna get anything for a penny and besides we had our own forms of candy at sixteen. It was an ancient two-storey house painted a candyapple red that flaked away revealing slates of dull knotted wood. The metaphor was lost on me then.
The house was surrounded by apple trees and an overgrown dirt path led
into the penumbra of a backyard that the world had seemingly forgotten so wild was it in its teeming fol...more
In looking at the book page for this book, I am struck by how many people chose to include one of Ferlinghetti's poems. In my opinion, what that says is that although some of the slanguage and cultural references may be a bit dated, these poems still resonate with people, me included. I bought my copy of this book at City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, sat, and read it from cover to cover. Almost everyone who reads this book will find a poem that will stay with them a long, long time.
my dad gave me his beat-up copy of Coney Island when i was in junior high, and showed me "11" the poem he'd recited for his forensics team when he was in high school. that poetry could be that natural, funny and defiant shocked me, and i've been hooked ever since.
this one is up there on the list of books that changed my life.
this one is up there on the list of books that changed my life.
5 likes
·
like
· see review
Jan 25, 2008
Granny
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
beats and cool cats of any age
Shelves:
stack-em-high-read-until-i-die,
poetry
One of the greatest influences of my teen years. Meeting and working with him in 1984 was an experience I'll never forget. Yeah, I still have my "ancient" copy of this book from the 1950's!
Poetry. I like Ferlinghetti for his rhythm, humor, and creative use of white space. Sometimes, like ee cummings, Ferlinghetti seems to be constructing something on the page that makes sense only to him, but occasionally he hits on a structure that perfectly enhances the meaning of a poem. He uses this to great effect in works like "Johnny Nolan has a patch on his ass," where the text mirrors the rhythm and action of the poem.
This volume is an odd mix of political, sexual, and comical. Trains mak...more
This volume is an odd mix of political, sexual, and comical. Trains mak...more
Mar 21, 2008
Faith-Anne
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people just getting interested in poetry
Shelves:
my-favorites,
poetry
This is a perfect book for people interested in exploring the world of poetry. I know quite a few people who got hooked on the genre through this book.
BY LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI
In Golden Gate Park that day
a man and his wife were coming along
thru the enormous meadow
which was the meadow of the world
He was wearing green suspenders
and carrying an old beat-up flute
in one hand
while his wife had a bunch of grapes
which she kept handing out
individually
to various squirrels
as if each
were a little joke
And then the two of them came on
thru the enormous meadow
which was the meadow of the world
and then
at a very still spot where the trees dreamed
and seemed to hav...more
In Golden Gate Park that day
a man and his wife were coming along
thru the enormous meadow
which was the meadow of the world
He was wearing green suspenders
and carrying an old beat-up flute
in one hand
while his wife had a bunch of grapes
which she kept handing out
individually
to various squirrels
as if each
were a little joke
And then the two of them came on
thru the enormous meadow
which was the meadow of the world
and then
at a very still spot where the trees dreamed
and seemed to hav...more
2 likes
·
like
· see review
Jul 30, 2008
Dana
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
New-age hippies, members of the Beat movement, angsty teens, and lovers of contemporary poetry.
Before reading this book as part of a research project on a poet of my choice, I admit that I only read poetry for leisure if said poetry was written by Edgar Allan Poe.
Ferlinghetti was not what I had anticipated when I first chose him as my research subject, but I quickly decided to like him anyway. His poetry is decidedly different, especially in terms of line structure and subject matter. He was a prominent member of the Beat movement of the 1950's, and his poetry reflects that in the form of...more
Ferlinghetti was not what I had anticipated when I first chose him as my research subject, but I quickly decided to like him anyway. His poetry is decidedly different, especially in terms of line structure and subject matter. He was a prominent member of the Beat movement of the 1950's, and his poetry reflects that in the form of...more
Surreal, romantic, hopeful and somewhat despairing. Some primo pieces of work evocative of the psychology of the latter 50s to early 60s, with the Cold War and the onset of the hippie movement.
This was my first book of poetry. A gift from my college professor uncle. I read it right away, eager to break away from the school-taught (to this day!) Frost/Poe/Dickinson monotony. Don't get me wrong, they were great, but I suspected there was more out there and I was right. Ferlinghetti was the beginning for me. Incidentally, Uncle John also gave me a little text called "Revenge of the Lawn," which I just finally cracked last week after it stayed in storage since high school. Sorry, Richard,...more
Lawrence Ferlinghetti might be one of the lesser known Beats, which is unfortunate. Although I generally do not like poetry, this is one book that's been on my shelf since high school. My admiration for Ferlinghetti resulted in visiting his City Lights Bookstore when I was in San Francisco ten or so years ago. I had hoped to run into him, but was not successful; however, just being in his world was enough for me. I periodically page through this book and re-read his poems and take pleasure in th...more
Hot on the heels of my exposure to Allen Ginsberg and beat literature in general, came my introduction to Larry Ferlinghetti by way of 'Coney Island of the Mind'. 'Coney Island' turned my resentment at the man into verse and set it to a jazz accompaniment. His poetry is daring, brave, and beautiful. He uses snippets of the world around him to set the tone by which he implores his readers to think for themselves and enjoy life. He also cautions the world about the encroachment of the industrial w...more
review of
Lawrence Ferlinghetti's A Coney Island of the Mind
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - November 12, 2011
Rereading A Coney Island of the Mind for what might be the 1st time in 41 yrs felt like going home again - by wch I mean that it feels like something that I'm very familiar w/ - even though I'm not. There's always the possibility that when one reads something in one's 'formative yrs' that it becomes deeply instantiated. Rereading this felt strangely comfortable - like being w/ an old fr...more
Lawrence Ferlinghetti's A Coney Island of the Mind
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - November 12, 2011
Rereading A Coney Island of the Mind for what might be the 1st time in 41 yrs felt like going home again - by wch I mean that it feels like something that I'm very familiar w/ - even though I'm not. There's always the possibility that when one reads something in one's 'formative yrs' that it becomes deeply instantiated. Rereading this felt strangely comfortable - like being w/ an old fr...more
I give A Coney Island of the Mind four stars because of the influience of Lawerence Ferlinghetti. He shattered that then generally held belief that poetry rhymes, it has a fixed meter, and it had to exalt nature or some trait or event worthy of celebration. Ferlinghetti made it possible for poetry to be easy to understand. Understandable poetry seems like such a logical goal, but most of Thomas Dylan's work tells us that easy to understand was not that common in poetry. Esoteric poetry lead to p...more
Jul 02, 2009
Erik Graff
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Beats and wanna-bes
Recommended to Erik by:
Rachel Nelson
Shelves:
poetry
Throughout much of my youth I bore fealty to a single woman. In junior high it was Nancy, half a foot taller than me, she of the checked skirts. In high school and into college it was Rachel, artist, fabricator of her own clothing, the girl down the block. Nothing came of these relationships in the ordinary sense. We were friends, but the passion wasn't reciprocated. I never really expected it would be.
Rachel had a custom during my last two years of secondary school of having folks over for Cons...more
Rachel had a custom during my last two years of secondary school of having folks over for Cons...more
1 like
·
like
· see review
I have never heard of Lawrence Ferlingetti before I borrowed the 50th Anniversary edition of A Coney Island State of Mind from the public library. I picked the book mostly because I was charmed by its beautiful cover and given the fact that it's included in the very long list of "books to read" which I have just created. And also partly, because of the accompanying CD included in the book. Sadly enough, I wasn’t able to use the CD because of the very simple reason that apparently, it’s not worki...more
I am leading a quiet life
in Mike’s Place every day
I hear America singing
in the Yellow Pages.
I am leading a quiet life
in Mike’s Place every day
watching the champs
of the Dante Billiard Parlor
and the French pinball addicts.
I am leading a quiet life
on lower East Broadway.
I am an American.
I was an American boy.
I read the American Boy Magazine
and became a boy scout
in the suburbs.
I thought I was Tom Sawyer
catching crayfish in the Bronx River
and imagining the Mississippi.
I had a baseba...more
in Mike’s Place every day
I hear America singing
in the Yellow Pages.
I am leading a quiet life
in Mike’s Place every day
watching the champs
of the Dante Billiard Parlor
and the French pinball addicts.
I am leading a quiet life
on lower East Broadway.
I am an American.
I was an American boy.
I read the American Boy Magazine
and became a boy scout
in the suburbs.
I thought I was Tom Sawyer
catching crayfish in the Bronx River
and imagining the Mississippi.
I had a baseba...more
When I was in college (back when dinosaurs ruled the earth), I fell in love with this volume of Beat Generation poetry. I did some readings of Ferlinghetti on the college speech & debate circuit, and he helped me bring home some trophies. I guess you could say we were partners of a sort.
Ferlinghetti was not merely a poet. He also owned the Harbor Lights bookstore (I think that's the name) and ran a small press. When Ginsberg was trying to publish "Howl," Ferlinghetti was the only one with th...more
Ferlinghetti was not merely a poet. He also owned the Harbor Lights bookstore (I think that's the name) and ran a small press. When Ginsberg was trying to publish "Howl," Ferlinghetti was the only one with th...more
1 like
·
like
· see review
I personally am not a fan of poetry, but since I had recently become interested in Beat literature, I felt I must read this collection of poems by Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The book is comprised of three sets of poems. In the first set is a rant against the absurdities of American culture. While I wouldn't consider myself an angry young man, I found this section to be quite refreshing.
The second set of poems, an Oral Message, is meant to be read aloud with jazz accompaniment. These were written in...more
The second set of poems, an Oral Message, is meant to be read aloud with jazz accompaniment. These were written in...more
Living in North Beach in San Francisco, I am only a few blocks from Lawrence Ferlinghetti and his famous bookstore, City Lights. I love shopping at City Lights, or just hanging out there, so it seemed natural for me to buy this volume from the store. The copy that I bought was the 50th Anniversary Edition, which came with a great companion CD containing recordings of Lawrence Ferlinghetti reading the entire book, as well as a few readings by him set to jazz music.
This is one of the most entertai...more
This is one of the most entertai...more
i slipped this from a top shelf of my parents' floor to ceiling bookshelves when i was 12 years old. i lay on the floor and fell head over heels in love with these words. there is an undeniable current within these pages and these poems stay within the recess of your mind.
"only the next day she has bad teeth and really hates poetry"
the well-worn copy i keep within reach is that same copy i slipped from that shelf.
"only the next day she has bad teeth and really hates poetry"
the well-worn copy i keep within reach is that same copy i slipped from that shelf.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti is one the more unknown figures of the Beat Generation. However, 'A Coney Island of the Mind' presents itself as one the most accessible and enjoyable introductions both to the writing of the Beat Poets as to poetry in general.
What makes this tiny book of poetry so special? It's hard to define, really. Ferlinghetti's biggest success lies within his ability to capture precise moments, thoughts and emotions. His style isn't unique but it doesn't have the rambling presentation...more
What makes this tiny book of poetry so special? It's hard to define, really. Ferlinghetti's biggest success lies within his ability to capture precise moments, thoughts and emotions. His style isn't unique but it doesn't have the rambling presentation...more
I am still awaiting the rebirth of wonder.
where I am, it's not happening.
it might be location, i may have to move closer to the wonder.
san francisco is closer to the wonder.
ferlinghetti was the beat poet whose poems appealed to me the most. concrete playfulness and whimsy, not as heavy as ginsberg, without requiring the commitment of kerouac.
where I am, it's not happening.
it might be location, i may have to move closer to the wonder.
san francisco is closer to the wonder.
ferlinghetti was the beat poet whose poems appealed to me the most. concrete playfulness and whimsy, not as heavy as ginsberg, without requiring the commitment of kerouac.
Woke up yesterday morning and decided to read this again, the first time in years and years. When I finally got down to work at my desk, I saw via The Writer's Almanac that it was Ferlinghetti's birthday. Nice coincidence. Then later, my next Netflix offering was "High School Confidential", truly the cult/camp classic it had been advertised as. An updated, if that is the word, "Reefer Madness", circa 1958. I'd never seen it before. It featured a scene where a little known actress named Phillipa...more
I don't read much poetry of my own accord, which maybe isn't something an English major should admit, but I liked this little book. The middle section of "jazz poetry" was dated in the worst ways and pretty grating, but everything else was good. Ferlinghetti's poetry is interesting mix of lyricism, collage-style imagery and matter-of-fact statements.
I had never read Ferlinghetti before, and I bought this solely because of its title. Coney Island? OF THE MIND? Well, it had a lot of that quality. Titleless poems that bounced around, colorful and chiming. It was noises and images and an America you’d hope to find out on the east coast boardwalk of the great arcade known as Coney Island. It wasn’t exactly beatnik sleight of hand, nor was it the slow-mouthed observations of this country. It was a mixture of a man reading at a jazz club, a man ju...more
Not a Beat Generation fan. Read On the Road sometime between high school and college and found it first exciting, then repetitive and, finally, I was just left grateful for its modest length. I’ve never been tempted to read more of Jack. Read some Ginsberg over the years but found it too rantish for sustained interest. Ferlinghetti was the other Beat great I meant to give a read to and A Coney Island of the Mind, the book. Took me awhile and a trip to San Francisco and City Lights Bookstore (a w...more
the guy wrote a poem where marc chagall's mom is yelling at him.
"but he
kept right on
painting"
i love how sweet ferlinghetti's poems are. i don't think he means them to be. but they are.
"but he
kept right on
painting"
i love how sweet ferlinghetti's poems are. i don't think he means them to be. but they are.
I was first introduced to the poetry in this book in 1973 when I was in high school. I was blown away! I discovered that poetry can be more than dry toast. Though the poems are void of traditional structure, they contain a precision in both voice and visual tone. I have worn out more than one copy of this book and journey to Coney Island on a regular basis. This is the book that started my writing of poetry. In fact, the first poem in my book of poetry, "they don't serve beer here" is a tribute...more
Clearly, this is one of the most wonderful and important collections of American poetry yet written. Ferlinghetti is, in my view, king of the Beat Era poets.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
A prominent voice of the wide-open poetry movement that began in the 1950s, Lawrence Ferlinghetti has written poetry, translation, fiction, theater, art criticism, film narration, and essays. Often concerned with politics and social issues, Ferlinghetti’s poetry countered the literary elite's definition of art and the artist's role in the world. Though imbued with the commonplace, his poetry canno...more
More about Lawrence Ferlinghetti...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“I once started out
to walk around the world
but ended up in Brooklyn,
that Bridge was too much for me.”
—
16 people liked it
to walk around the world
but ended up in Brooklyn,
that Bridge was too much for me.”
“I am waiting for the war to be fought
which will make the world safe for anarchy”
—
14 people liked it
More quotes…
which will make the world safe for anarchy”
Mar 02, 2012 11:26am
Mar 04, 2012 04:51pm