And the beat goes on

By STEVE LINDAUER

San Fransisco is a good city to break up with your girlfriend," was Fonzie Brailo's first comment on my explanation for why I had returned to California so early. "Let's talk about it." So we talked. About San Francisco.

It is my first day in San Francisco and I am a little disappointed it's not foggy. How many times do you have an image of a place, just to find out later you've been watching too much TV?

It is mid-October and the sun is shining, warm and friendly. The people downtown are wearing T-shirts and are acting busy. Nobody looks much like a flower power hippie, although more and more homeless crowd the streets the closer I get to my prospective hotel in the Tenderloin district.

At reception I am taken into the arms and to the heart by Lee, a huge African-American with a beaming smile. He seems to be the personification of a "San Franciscan", but he assures me that no one who lives here is from here. They are all "influxers, drifters", like Jack Kerouac in the 50s and Allen Ginsberg and the other poets of the so-called Beat Generation who arrived in San Francisco and created a new wave of revolutionary literature.

I remember well my first Kerouac book, On the Road. I had devoured it in one piece while travelling. The Beats were one of the main reasons I had come to San Francisco.

Looking for the legendary City Lights Bookstore, whose founder Lawrence Ferlinghetti was the patron publisher of the Beats, I become lost in China Town.

Beneath the glittering red Chinese lanterns on Grant St I pause in front of the Canton Bazaar to light a smoke, fascinated by the narrow, cartoon-like side alleys where cats delve for fish bones in dented trash-cans and talkative Asians step out of steaming backyard kitchens, wiping their hands on stained aprons, their eyes fixed on some point in the future where one day somebody might yell out loudly: "Land in sight!"

And that's exactly how I feel as, suddenly and unexpectedly, I arrive at the City Lights Bookstore in North Beach, a suburb on a hill. Somehow I had always thought that North Beach was actually a beach, but what joy to find myself in front of this iconic monolith, the cradle of a literary revolution which can be counted as one of the most important in North American history.

And today, City Lights is about to receive its well-earned recognition: a ceremony to inaugurate the bookstore as a National Landmark, featuring poetry readings by various writers.

This is brilliant because it was how it all started on October 7, 1955, at the 6 Gallery, when five unknown poets got together for a reading.

Philip Lamantia, Mike McClure, Ginsberg, Gary Snyder and Philip Whalen wowed the crowd with their sharp, new, straightforward poetry, while Kerouac lent rowdy support from the sidelines.

The reading reached its climax when Ginsberg presented his poem Howl for the first time, an outrageously intense and stimulating outcry reflecting the tortures of a desperate soul in a misanthropic society looking for beauty.

Some time later, fog has finally gathered and I sit down for a cup of tea in the adjacent Vesuvio Cafe which overlooks the Jack Kerouac Alley.

San Francisco has so many magical attractions to offer, but for those who are truly interested in poetry and literature, the Vesuvio and City Lights are two of the seven navels of the world.

It was here in this bar lit by the same gas lamp that Kerouac and pals hung out and wildly discussed the beauty and madness of the world. Faded and yellowed copies of old newspaper articles about their exploits adorn the walls, excerpts from readings line the stairwell.

Strolling up Columbus further into the heart of North Beach, I am drawn to yet another cafe of literary interest, Cafe Trieste. Although the big windows giving way to the ever-fascinating sight of passers-by capture my eyes, I peek every now and then over the rim of my coffee mug to the sombre niche next to the piano.

It was here that Francis Ford Coppola typed the screenplay of The Godfather, and, like the Vesuvio, the Trieste was a popular Beat hangout.

Tables are shared, the place is packed, the bellas are perched on their boyfriends' laps as everyone sways to the tune O sole mio, sung with great gusto by the Italian owners.

The sights of lovers in the Cafe Trieste brings me to my solitary status and I leave the place with a sad heart, knowing that in two days I will depart from San Francisco - alone.

I stroll down a hilly street whose two-storey weatherboard houses seem straight off the set of Hitchcock's movie The Birds. The bay tempts siren-like with breathtaking, silvery beauty below, while the moon creeps stealthily behind a cloud, conserving washed-out moonlight for all those who still doubt that sooner or later this city will cast a spell on everyone.

"You know", Fonzie Brailo had said to me, "San Francisco is a good place to break up with your girlfriend and it's also a great city to fall in love."

I would have to say that I agree, San Francisco is the perfect place to fall in love and it offers more food for thought than any of us half-starved, down-and-out, would-be writers could ever dream of.

Case notes:


Getting there:


Flight Centre is offering fares to San Francisco starting from $1829 (plus taxes) economy class return. Other offers also available.

From the airport:


Shared vans that will drop you at your hotel door run all day on a walk-up basis, departing from outside all terminals (departure level).

Prices from airport to downtown and Fisherman's Wharf around NZ$24. Taxis range around $70.

Where to stay:


* The three-star Grant Plaza Hotel (downtown and centrally located to all attractions) has rooms from $105 a night for a double. Find it at 465 Grant Ave, SF 94108, ph +1 414 434 3883.

* The Holiday Inn Fisherman's Wharf Hotel on 1200 Columbus Ave is well recommended, with rooms around $250 a night for a double. Ph +1 215 771 9000.

* A great range of accommodation and discounts can be had when booking over the internet in advance at www.holidaycityusa.com/

What to see and do:


* Visiting Alcatraz Island is a must. Ferries leave on the hour from Fisherman's Wharf. Fares, including audio headsets, NZ$24.

* Even if you are not interested in modern art, a visit to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (Soma) is another fascinating must. It's at 151 3rd St at Mission and Howard Sts.

* Ride the cable cars:
.

* Go on a Java Coffee Tour and see why San Franciscans love their coffee. Tours begin 10am outside the Mark Reuben Gallery, 334 Grant St between Sutter and Bush, and cost $36 a person not including coffees. Email for details and reservations javagirl@javawalk.com Ph +1 (415) 673 9255.

* Share a table with the locals and spend Saturday morning drinking coffee at the Cafe Trieste on 601 Vallejo St, North Beach, while the owners sing O sole mio.

* Spend some time at City Lights Books, then stroll across for a brew or coffee at the Vesuvio on Columbus, North Beach.

Last but not least, eat clam chowder on the Fisherman's Wharf.


www.sfvisitor.org