Lawrence Ferlinghetti's thoughts as he approaches 100 years old

Few of us achieve fame, and few of us live to be one hundred years old.

This Sunday, poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti will be able to claim both accomplishments.

Not that it’s been a cakewalk — he won’t be able to attend his own birthday party at San Francisco's famous bookstore City Lights (which he co-founded), because of his failing eyesight — but he’s certainly had his fair share of celebratory moments over the past century.

And in fact, Ferlinghetti’s vision didn’t prevent him from publishing a novel, Little Boy, which hit shelves yesterday.

Ferlinghetti reflects further on his career, in the leadup to that milestone birthday, in an interview on NPR’s Morning Edition. 

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