Lawrence Ferlinghetti b. March 24, 1919

In 1960 I was riding my bike home from school and turned west off 21st ave to head down the hill toward Puget Sound when I spotted a book laying open face down in the road. I picked it up and took it home with me. It was a copy of Jam Session by Ralph Gleason (1958) and since I was listening to jazz and only jazz I kept it. This book included an edited version of an unpublished poem Autobiography by Lawrence Ferlinghetti. This poem became a permanent part of my life.