Issue 188, Summer 2009 - Telegraph Hill Dwellers

THE ALFA NOSEBy Kathleen CannonSpider Veloce ’77 explores poetry, art, architecture andculture around North Beach and Telegraph Hill—the International Poetry Festival, Piazza St. Francis,Pavement to Parks, Hollywood and Beat Notes.Former Poet Laureate Lawrence Ferlinghetti hasfounded the Piazza St. Francis Association, a501.C3 Foundation, which is working towardclosure of Vallejo Street between Grant Avenue andColumbus. (www.piazzastfrancis.us) Tony Gantnerassisted in putting the foundation together. Therehave been and will continue be substantial fundraiserstoward their dream of a European style Piazzain this space. The City, however, is broke so is notputting in any money.Nearby, Angela Alioto’s Renaissance Projectenvisions the St. Francis Shrine as a world destinationfor Pilgrims www.shrinerenewal.org, the onlysanctioned shrine for St. Francis of Assisi in theU.S. Alioto’s project has also had several fundraisers,another of which is scheduled for the 3rd week inSeptember. It is important to note that the two areseparate projects. One is secular. One is affiliatedwith the Catholic Church. When these two projectscome together, they will meet in a plaza between St.Francis of Assisi Shrine and Café Trieste. Picturea plaza with tables, chairs, umbrellas. Perhaps afountain—a world class destination.Retro Fitting for St. FrancisThe original plan to retrofit St. Francis of AssisiShrine was an-$8M- $10M project. However,the Diocese, another victim of the recession, couldonly contribute $1.2M, so the project has been cutback. Work will begin at the top. The spires will beretrofitted and plastered and painted where necessary.More extensive plans for painting the outside ofchurch will be postponed until a later date. Anotherstage in the plans is to renovate the rectory.Nibby Brothers are handling thepartial retrofit. Construction may beginin early October, and the Shrine will beclosed for 9 months.International Poetry FestivalJuly 23rd, Jack Kerouac Alley by City LightsBookstore was the cool hot spot for launching theInternational Poetry Festival. Twenty-two poets, 13women and 13 men, were invited from all over theworld. Working together with Lawrence, Ferlinghetti,Jack Hirschman, another former Poet Laureate, organizedthe project. “The festival was very successful,”said Jack. “It gave people the opportunity to hear poetsfrom other countries in their native languages.” Jackcited Ignatius Mabase, the leading poet of Mbabwawho is restoring his native language, Shona. Otherpoetic languages included Haitian, Farsi, and Welsh.The Festival also gave voice to new and young poets.Jack is also the Poet in Residence of the S.F.Library. He attributes the success of the festival toFriends of the S.F. Library that raised funds to fly inthe poets for readings, paid them a stipend, and coveredair and hotel. All the events were according to Jackpleasantly “overcrowded at the North Beach Library,the Palace of Fine Arts and the Beat Museum.“If you’re wondering, Dian DiPrima, a wellknown chronicler of the Beat Generation, is the currentS. F. Poet Laureate.Other NewsCafé Trieste hosted a reunion of Woodstockmusicians, including regular Paul Kantner of theJefferson Airplane,The Beat Museum on Wheels has been resurrectedfor mobile readings. The 1987 Airstream RV’sdestination on September 26-26th is Ft. Mason, forthe first mobile event in a couple of years.38 Issue #188 • Summer 2009