"Printer's ink is the greater explosive" - Lawrence Ferlinghetti
[GINSBERG, Allen, Lawrence FERLINGHETTI, Kenneth PATCHEN, et al.] The Pocket Poets Series. A run of the first 25 volumes. San Francisco: The City Lights Bookshop. 1955-1968.
Small 8vo. 25 volumes. All in original publisher's card wrappers printed in a variety of colours including yellow, red, blue and green; some including black and white photographs, in a custom-made solander box; vols 21 and 22 with cover illustrations/photographs; overall light shelf wear and marking, all minimal; vol. 3 with some light marking to covers, spotting to prelims and outer edge, and toned along the spine; vols 5 and 6 with small water stains to covers; vol. 7 with previous owners ink initials to front cover; vol. 16 spine expertly reinforced; vol. 19 with corner crease to upper cover; vol. 22 with previous ownership name in ink to title; some covers a little rubbed to extremities, others a little toned to the wraps; a remarkably fresh set.
First editions, first printings all, beginning with Pictures of the Gone World (1955) by Lawrence Ferlinghetti and ending Hunk of Skin (1968) by Pablo Picasso.
The City Lights Pocket Poets Series was a revolutionary series of poetry collections compiled by Lawrence Ferlinghetti and published by his City Lights Book Store in San Francisco. Ferlinghetti and Peter Martin, a student at San Francisco State University, founded "A Pocket Book Store" in 1953. Two years later, Ferlinghetti bought out Martin and set up the publishing wing that was responsible for promoting the work of writers as ground-breaking as Frank O'Hara, Kenneth Patchen, Bob Kaufman, William Carlos Williams and Allen Ginsberg.
The bold, minimalist style of the Pocket Poet Series, devoid of illustration, was an aesthetic representation of the unvarnished truth of the texts. The format of the series - typically six inches long and five inches wide - was a salute to the styles of contemporary political publications, such as those of the International Workers of The World, and denoted its left-wing credentials. Ultimately though, it was the scandal caused by the publication of Allen Ginsberg's Howl and Other Poems (1956) that cemented the Pocket Poets' countercultural reputation. As the publisher, Ferlinghetti was arrested and sent to trial for obscenity in 1957. He was acquitted thanks to the American Civil Liberties Movement, and the significance of the series was established.
Ferlinghetti wanted to publish poetry in an affordable format that could reach an audience beyond the usual rich literary patrons and this inexpensive paperback collection offered many readers their introduction to the San Francisco Renaissance and the Beat Generation. However, it was not strictly limited to these movements. It also published pioneering authors from overseas and in translation, fulfilling Ferlinghetti's intentions for "an international, dissident, insurgent ferment". He certainly succeeded in founding a literary legend. In 2001, City Lights was made an official historic landmark, appreciated for having played "a seminal role in the literary and cultural development of San Francisco and the nation".
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