Lawrence Ferlinghetti Live at The Poetry Center — Beat Scene review (archival documentation)
This review, published in Beat Scene, documents the release of Lawrence Ferlinghetti Live at The Poetry Center, a spoken-word album recorded at the Poetry Center of Chicago and produced by Kenneth Clarke.
Clarke personally edited the recording from the original live source, removing microphone artifacts, podium noise, and interruptions, and prepared the final production master in collaboration with a professional mastering studio. The album was then released on CD and distributed through The Poetry Center and City Lights Booksellers & Publishers.
Ferlinghetti later wrote to Clarke after receiving the finished CD: “Have received and played my new CD and I am thrilled to have it. It’s the best I’ve gotten.”
This Beat Scene review serves as independent archival documentation of the recording’s public release and circulation. The album forms part of the civic production work described in The Groaning Book, where live poetry readings were preserved and extended into durable form through direct production, editing, and release.
