Lawrence Ferlinghetti Born Lawrence Ferling On March 24 1919 1 Is An American Poet And Painter And The Co-Founder Of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers. Author Of Poetry Translations Fiction Theatre Art Criticism And Film Narration He Is Best Known For A Coney Island Of The Mind New York New Directions 1958 A Collection Of Poems That Has Been Translated Into Nine Languages With Sales Of Over 1 000 000 Copies.