Founded in 1953 by renowned poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti to present the work of Beat poets like Jack Kerouac, City Lights Bookstore & Publishers has a rich literary history and is one of the nation’s greatest independent bookshops.

Located on Columbus Avenue in San Francisco’s North Beach area, which is famous for housing Beat Generation poets, the bookstore was taken to court in the mid-50s for publishing Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and other Poems.

Today, the publishing arm continues to release new works and translated works of critical international authors, and an extensive collection of political works, all of which are only available in paperback.

261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, CA, Phone: 415-362-8193