Lawrence Ferlinghetti-Painter & Poet for All Generations

By Noma Faingold                 (August 1, 2025)

“I never wanted to be a poet. It chose me. I didn’t choose it. One becomes a poet almost against one’s will, certainly against one’s better judgement. I wanted to be a painter, but from the age of 10, these damn poems kept coming. Perhaps one of these days they will leave me alone and I can get back to painting.”

           – Lawrence Ferlinghetti, poet laureate, publisher, activist, playwright, novelist and painter

The poet and artist Lawrence Ferlinghetti in his San Francisco studio. (Photo courtesy of Brian Flaherty for The New York Times)

Calling someone an “icon” is annoyingly overused these days. However, when it comes to the late multi-hyphenate Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919-2021), the moniker is appropriate, especially in San Francisco, where he thrived artistically and socially since his arrival in 1951. Continue reading

SECRETS FROM THE MOVIE SET

An Interview with Producer Paul Zaentz

By Gary Meyer

(updated November 21, 2024)

34 Oscar nominations.

22 Wins including 3 Best Pictures.

That is only a fraction of the awards the Bay Area ‘s Saul Zaentz won for the terrific movies he brought to the international big screen.

The Berkeley FILM Foundation and the California Film Institute presented the Saul Zaentz Film Celebration, an event honoring the legacy of the legendary independent film producer, November 15-17, 2024, at the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, California.

Amadeus shows at Davies Hall with the SF Symphony the score live on  music. on Nov. 29-30, 2024. Tickets and info here.

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The Art of Eating: The Life of M.F.K. Fisher

By Julie Lindow

It is rare that watching a film can provoke a similar response as reading an author’s work, but The Art of Eating: The Life of M.F.K. Fisher does just that. One feels both starved and satisfied. Fortunately, Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher’s words on screen and paper not only awaken our hunger, but teach us how to listen to our own desires, how to slow down and pay attention, be curious, sensual, in the moment, and ultimately, how to more intensely live and love. Continue reading