well, it was founded in 1953 by lawrence ferlinghetti, and it was modeled after the european bookstorewhich had a publishing house as well as a bookstore in the same operation. lawrence's partner was a guy, the name of peter de martin. peter de martin was mostly interested in the journal. ferlinghetti really had a broader vision, which was to create a publishing house that issued fourth quality paperbacks. hardcovers were very expensive. yeah, and the great thing about a paperback is that, you know, you didn't have to spend a week's worth of wages on it. you wanted to make something that just some kid would come in and with an allowance money, be able to pick up and open up and just like and inspire. you wanted to inspire a generation of people to look at poetry differently. first and foremost were a cultural center. and this is really the nexus where the literary and the political meet. and so our job to keep the avant garde alive. yes, sir. i received your letter yesterday about the time that donna broke with you, asking me how i was doing. yes, that's okay, joe. oh, all these people