Beat Poet Trips Into Hailey To Celebrate Pound

Beat Generation poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti came to the birthplace of Ezra Pound to spread a little anarchy.

With his trademark white beard, Greek fisherman’s cap and jeans, the 78-year-old Ferlinghetti took the Liberty Theatre stage before a packed house Thursday night.

“I was talking to a poet before I came tonight, and he said he was awfully glad to see me brought to town by the funky, anarchistic Ezra Pound Association,” he said.

Pound was born in Hailey Oct. 30, 1885, but spent most of his life in Europe, where he was a formidable force in the literary world. The association wants to preserve the home of his birth.

Three of the poems Ferlinghetti read featured Pound. One told a moving tale of hearing a broken old Pound recite his poetry at a 1959 festival in Italy.

Ferlinghetti’s volume “A Coney Island of the Mind” is still one of the best-selling poetry collections in the world.