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Christopher Michel, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
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“Pity the nation whose leaders are liars
Whose sages are silenced
And whose bigots haunt the airwaves.”
-Lawrence Ferlinghetti
From his poem “Pity the Nation,” which was written in 2007, and inspired by Kahlil Gibran’s The Garden of the Prophet, which carried a similar sentiment.
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Read the entire poem by clicking here
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Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919 – 2021) was an American poet, painter, social activist, and co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers. An author of poetry, translations, fiction, theatre, art criticism, and film narration, Ferlinghetti was best known for his second collection of poems, A Coney Island of the Mind (1958), which has been translated into nine languages and sold over a million copies. When Ferlinghetti turned 100 in March 2019, the city of San Francisco turned his birthday, March 24, into “Lawrence Ferlinghetti Day.”
Click here to read his entire Wikipedia biography
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Listen to the 1985 recording of David Bowie and the Pat Metheny Group performing the Bowie/Metheny/Lyle Mays composition “This is Not America” [Rhino]
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Click for:
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Other editions of Memorable Quotes
More poetry on Jerry Jazz Musician
“The Sound of Becoming,” J.C. Michaels’ winning story in the 70th Jerry Jazz Musician Short Fiction Contest
More short fiction on Jerry Jazz Musician
Information about how to submit your poetry or short fiction
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Jerry Jazz Musician…human produced since 1999
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