In the 1950s, North Beach emerged as an avant garde cultural center. The “Beat Generation” was born through the likes of Allen Ginsburg and Jack Kerouac. The term was coined in the 50s to describe a group of American writers who celebrated nonconformity and spontaneous creativity; these subculture heroes found a ready home in bohemian San Francisco.

Ginsburg and Kerouac were part of the San Francisco Renaissance, which also included other prominent “beats” like Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Michael McClure, Philip Whalen, Gary Snyder and Kenneth Rexforth. One of their hallmarks: their continual challenge to the limits of free expression.

It was a romantic and spontaneous era for North Beach, as bookstores flourished and so did the prose. It was not uncommon in those days to have bearded poets reading their works to the accompaniment of a saxophone player improvising in the background at such places as the famous City Lights Bookstore on Columbus—the publisher of one of the bibles of the Beat Generation, Ginsburg’s Howl.

A recreation of this short but seminal time in San Francisco will be discussed with writers and historians familiar with this phase of San Francisco’s mid-century history.

Please join us for an in-depth look into this era which spawned a new world of thought and activism.

Time: 7:30 PM

Via Muni: The 1 - California, 2 - Clement, 3 - Jackson, 4 - Sutter, 38 - Geary and 43 - Masonic serve the area. Please contact Muni Information for more details: 311 in San Francisco or (415) 701-2311 outside of San Francisco, or visit www.sfmuni.com.

Parking: Parking is available on site in the public parking lot located just left of the California Street entrance at Walnut Street. After 6:00 pm the rate is a flat fee of $1.50. The lot is equipped with coin operated ticket machines that will also accept combination of nickels, dimes, quarters, $1.00 bills and $5.00 bills only.