Lawrence Ferlinghetti - Pity the Nation

[Pendrench]

[scarletwoman]

1. I can't watch the video because I'm on dial-up, but I'd love to know when this was filmed & where.

I attended a reading by Ferlinghetti when I was in college in the late 60s. It was a wonderful experience and I've never forgotten the power of his words.

[Pendrench]

2. Hi scarletwoman...from what I can tell, this was from an interview that took place on

September 03, 2007 on the TV show "Democracy Now!"



Tim

[scarletwoman]

4. Thank you. I'll see if I can find the transcript. (nt)

[Pharaoh]

7. here it is

"PITY THE NATION"
(After Khalil Gibran)

Pity the nation whose people are sheep
And whose shepherds mislead them
Pity the nation whose leaders are liars
Whose sages are silenced
And whose bigots haunt the airwaves
Pity the nation that raises not its voice
Except to praise conquerers
And acclaim the bully as hero
And aims to rule the world
By force and by torture
Pity the nation that knows
No other language but its own
And no other culture but its own
Pity the nation whose breath is money
And sleeps the sleep of the too well fed
Pity the nation oh pity the people
who allow their rights to erode
and their freedoms to be washed away
My country, tears of thee
Sweet land of liberty!

[cantbeserious]

3. From The You Tube Video We Have The Following Attribution

"Uploaded on Sep 4, 2007
Identified with the City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco as well as the poets of the Beat Generation, 88 year old Lawrence Ferlinghetti is still active as a poet. This poem is a recent effort."

[scarletwoman]

5. Thank you also. 2007 would be almost 40 years after I saw him in person.

[Thespian2]

10. I remember

attending a seminar by Ferlinghetti at the University of Houston in the early 70's. For a doctoral student, it was a great experience. Happy to see that he still spoke from his heart.

[DeSwiss]

6. K&R

"A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves." ~Edward R. Murrow

[JEB]

8. Thanks for posting.

Certainly worth a listen and some sober reflection.

[Pendrench]

9. Hi JEB - my pleasure.

I had never heard this particular poem before last night...I just happened to be randomly searching on YouTube for poetry, and (luckily) typed in "Ferlinghetti".

Tim