Chapter 257 256 "Beat Generation" Poets
It was already the end of August. According to the IWP project arrangement, this visit was divided into two places. One was eastward, taking a plane to New York and Washington.
The other is to go west, to San Francisco and Los Angeles on the west coast of the United States. Each person can choose a route.
Yishu and Zhang Ling chose to go to New York, while Fang Minghua and Zhang Xianliang went to Los Angeles.
Actually, it doesn’t matter where Fang Minghua goes, but Zhang Xianliang wanted to go to Los Angeles, so he also asked Fang Minghua.
"Minghua, come with me to Hollywood to see if it's really like the legend." Zhang Xianliang said his purpose.
"Okay." Fang Minghua agreed readily.
Zhang Xianliang wants to go to Hollywood, which is a good thing.
In the future, he will establish Beipu Film and Television City in Northwest Town, and it would be nice to see the world.
Emily came to the hotel in the evening as usual and was very happy to hear that Fang Minghua was going to Los Angeles.
"Welcome to Los Angeles, welcome to my home."
"Your home?"
"You forgot, my home is in Palm Springs, only a two-hour drive from Los Angeles. ”
Oh, the girl said it, but Fang Minghua didn’t know that Palm Springs is not far from Los Angeles.
“The summer school program ends in one week. I will go back home then and then register at the university. I have been invited to visit our Palm Springs. I dare say that our place is more beautiful than Iowa. ! ”
The girl is very enthusiastic.
Fang Minghua agreed.
"This is my home phone number. If you arrive in Los Angeles, please call me."
"That's a lot, thank you."
Fang Minghua took it A note written by a girl.
Emily chatted for a while and then left. She said that she would also write a novel when she went back - this was an assignment assigned by the summer school.
“What did you write?” Fang Minghua asked curiously.
"It will be kept secret for now. I will show it to you after I finish writing it." The girl looked mysterious.
After the girl left, Zhang Xianliang said with a smile: "Minghua, this girl seems to be so interested in you."
Fang Minghua could see that Emily was indeed so interested. Meaning.
However, they are all people who met by chance, and I will return to China soon.
Besides, there is Song Tangtang waiting for him in Xijing.
I cannot be dazzled in this colorful world.
On September 1, Zhang Minghua and his party of six left Iowa City by plane for San Francisco. They were accompanied by a writer from India, Pakistan, and Argentina, and a man named Wilson from the IWP.
I stayed in San Francisco for five days. In addition to visiting the famous Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts, the most important thing was to visit the famous landmark bookstore in San Francisco, City Lights, and the founder of City Lights, the poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti had an exchange.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti is a famous American poet, publisher, and one of the central figures of the "Beat Generation" movement. "The Beat Generation" comes from the novel "The Sun Also Rises" written by the American writer Hemingway. It describes the generation of young people after World War II as the lost generation or the Beat Generation.
But it was this group of young people who were considered hopeless who in later years produced Elvis Presley, Bill Gates, Jobs, Hawking, Jackson, Jonas, Martin Luther King and other various elites who laid the foundation for the future of the United States.
This reminds Fang Minghua that in later generations in China, the "post-90s" generation was called the Beat Generation.
City Lights was opened by Lawrence Ferlinghetti in 1953 and was known as the Beat Generation. It is the base camp of the "Beat Generation" and the signpost of "Rebel Culture".
In the 1970s, a passionate era in America, a lot of bookstore work was done in secret. Even under the surveillance of the FBI, they are still trying to find a way out from the mainstream culture. In the early 1980s, City Lights weathered a difficult economic crisis.
Now, the U.S. economy has seen a strong rebound and the economy has recovered. The "City Lights" bookstore has also prospered and has become a holy place for avant-garde literature. Here you can find all kinds of wonderful but unpopular out-of-print books. work.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti gave a warm welcome to the members of the IWP Writers After School Group.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti is almost 70 this year. Wearing a T-shirt and jeans, with a beard, he looks very energetic. He is at the door of the bookstore and warmly hugs every writer who comes in.
When it was Fang Minghua's turn, he opened his arms and said: "Welcome, friends from the East, the article "Contemporary Avant-garde Literary Thoughts and Future Prospects" you wrote is very interesting."
"Mr. Ferlinghetti, have you read that article?" Fang Minghua was very surprised.
Before going abroad, he asked Li Li to translate that article into English. He brought it to the United States to speak at an IWP lecture. Later, it was temporarily changed to speak about ancient Chinese poetry, so it was not used.
Later, when Emily came to the summer school to study writing, he lent it to the girl for her reference. He had never disclosed it to the public. How could it have spread to San Francisco, thousands of miles away?
Seeing Fang Minghua’s surprised look, Lawrence Ferlinghetti explained: “There is a professor at the University of Iowa who is a friend of mine. He was giving lectures at the school’s summer school this year, and it happened that a girl had watched 伱The article she wrote was recommended to her teacher—who was my friend.”
That’s it!
Fang Minghua remembered that Emily said this on the way to see the covered bridge that day, but Fang Minghua didn't pay much attention.
"Thank you, I have also read your collection of poems "Coney Island of the Soul"." Fang Minghua replied.
It was Ferlinghetti's turn to be surprised: "Have you seen the poem I wrote?"
"Yes."
Ferlinghetti was very happy: "I never thought that my poems could spread to faraway eastern countries."
Fang Minghua felt sorry after hearing this.
He did read it, but that was before this era, and there is no Chinese translation of this collection of poems in China.
Just think of it as a beautiful misunderstanding.
After Ferlinghetti welcomed them, he took them to visit this famous bookstore.
The bookstore is relatively large, but it does not seem to pursue a spacious "consumption space", but tries to maximize the space. More books are available to readers.
Fang Minghua and others walked through the rows of bookshelves, which could barely accommodate two people.
A narrow staircase leads to the basement. The books inside are dazzling: scandal reporting, anarchism, class struggle...
The first floor is literary books. Find the latest in avant-garde literature, many of which are published by City Lights Press.
Fang Minghua probably looked through it, there are some from Europe, America, Latin America, and even India, but there is a lack of ones from China.
Also, the so-called "avant-garde literature" started not long ago in China.
"Mr. Fang." Ferlinghetti, who was following him, said, "Looking at the article you wrote, avant-garde novels are now becoming popular in your country. I heard that you are also the editor-in-chief of the magazine. You can select some outstanding Bring the novel to our country, and our City Light Publishing House can publish the English version!”
This is possible!
(End of this chapter)