This Twine game is made as an introduction to the San Francisco Renaissance, presented through the exploration of City Lights Books, an iconic location of key figures in the Beat Generation, and a cornerstone in the creation of hippy counterculture in the U.S.
[[start game->1 start game]]You’re visiting San Francisco as part of a roadtrip you’re taking with some of your friends. It’s a warm June day and your friends want to visit the beach. You, however, just want to walk around the city and get lost in the tiny side-streets. You make plans to meet up with your friends for dinner in Chinatown later in the evening, and you part ways for the day.
[[Explore the city->2 Explore the city]]You make your way through the streets, trying to avoid the most tourist-y spots, enjoying seeing the parks and the everyday busy life of the people there.
[[Continue->3 Continue]]After a few hours of walking, taking photos, and enjoying the nice weather, you realise that you should slowly be making your way to the dinner location you and your friends decided on. Its not too far from where you are now. But, as you check your phone, you receive a message from your friends. They’re stuck in traffic and will be at least an hour late. To kill some time, you decide to take a walk in the neighbourhood you're in now. The street you are on is busy and colourful. You decide to
[[stay on the main street and see the city come to life in the evening->3.1. stay]]
[[take a quieter street to avoid the evening crowds->3.2. turn ]]You walk along the street as the sun slowly sets across the skyline. Colourful lights beam from almost every shop window and restaurant sign you pass. As you are walking, you notice a pink building with large banners covering it. The banners have a quote written on them: “Democracy is not a spectator sport.” The sign on the building reads “City Lights Booksellers & Publishers”. Intrigued, you decide to [[cross the street and see if it is open.->4 approach]]
<img src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EkafpkAVgAA_27S?format=jpg&name=medium">You escape the loud chatter and traffic of the main street and follow a quieter path towards Chinatown. However, soon enough on your detour, you notice interesting signs on the pavement on one of the streets leading back to the main street. One of them reads “Poetry is the shadow cast by our streetlight imaginations. Lawrence Ferlinghetti”. What also catches your eye is the colourful mural on the pink building you’ve found. You want to see what this building is, so you turn the corner back to the main street, only to discover that it is a bookstore. The sign on the front reads “City Lights Booksellers & Publishers”. Intrigued, you [[approach the door to see if it is open.->4 approach]]
<img src="https://c8.alamy.com/zooms/9/717f0a11694f4c4fa9baa3b4f7bf77f7/c97wwp.jpg">The store is open – there aren’t too many people inside from what you can see, and you still have a lot of time until your friends get out of traffic. You decide to [[enter the bookstore->5 enter]].The bell above the door jingles as you enter. The store is illuminated by tiny lights everywhere, while the walls are covered in books and posters of many people, some of which are celebrities you recognise. A tiny staircase leads to another floor, which also seems to be just as packed with books as this one. An employee stacking books in the corner waves to you as you take a look around. You decide to
[[approach the bookshelves the employee is stacking->6.1 bookshelves]]
[[check out what’s upstairs->6.2 upstairs]]
<img src="https://worldtravelshop.com/northbeach/images/stores/cityLights/cityLights-02.jpg">You make your way towards one of the many corners stacked with books in the store where an employee is rearranging some of the books. You decide to strike up a conversation with her. You exchange greetings, and she seems to be happy to talk to you even as she is working.
[[“Can you tell me a bit more about this store?”]]You make your way up the creaky stairs. A sign reads “Poetry Room” as you reach the top, and you take a look around. The walls, again, are stacked with titles, most of which you don’t recognise. It’s much quieter here. The room has a few chairs around, in one of which an older man is sitting, flipping through a book. As you peruse the shelves, he strikes up a conversation with you.
“Eh, you know, reading this does not compare at all to the real thing, to hearing it in person,” the man says. He lowers his frames on his nose as he looks at you, “I got to see Ginsberg perform in one of the poetry nights they used to have around here, you know. You can’t write //that// down!” he exclaims.
[[“Who is Ginsberg? Sounds like he was a great writer.”]]
<img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/640/1*cAdS5ADtj7EO9O5JKLsIXA.jpeg">“Oh, yeah, totally! First time in San Francisco, I’m assuming?” she smiles. You nod.
“Well, this is City Lights Books, the birthplace of the Beat Generation!” she exclaims. “The store was opened in 1953 by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, an amazing man. He wanted to publish independent authors and translate “alternative” authors from abroad. You know, back in the day it, publishing stuff like that just wasn't a thing. The Cold War and stuff. It was really controversial back in the day,” she explains, stacking the shelves. “So, Ferlinghetti started this whole business with the bookstore and publishing. But he would also invite these guys, right -- amazing writers, young and radical -- and they would throw these crazy events. They called them poetry nights, and it was basically all the artists in the area -- and everyone who wanted to have a crazy night, of course -- would gather here, and listen to these guys read their work. Obviously, they sold booze and partied while they did it, because why wouldn't they?” she laughs. “If you think our generation knows how to party, you have no idea what these guys were up to. And, when they weren’t throwing crazy parties, all the greats would meet in the basement here to smoke, read, and write,” she explains.
[[“The Beat Generation? I’ve never heard of it before…”]]“Oh, these guys were //amazing//. The Beatniks, or the Beat Generation, whatever you want to call them, they were the first ones to talk about //life//, you know? Like, after the wars, everybody was so scared to talk about the real shit. The injustice and how America just kept going to war in countries they didn't need to go to. These dudes, they really talked about this stuff. And, on top of that, they actually talked about the trauma their parents didn’t want to talk about, you know, in the post-war era,” the girl explains, “Of course, they weren’t the only ones, but they really lit the spark that started the whole hippy movement of the sixties. You know, back then it was totally different. You just weren’t allowed to talk about sex, drugs, violence or anything like that, and they just did it anyway!”
[["Whoa, that’s pretty impressive. I don’t think I’ve read anything by them, but now I really want to!"]]“Well, here you go!” the girl says, handing you one of the books she is stacking on the shelf. The title reads //On the Road//. “One of the classic texts by one of the original beatniks, Jack Kerouac. It’s technically a novel, but, in reality, it’s just describing the life of the real beatniks back then. You know Kerouac, one of the big guys, he wrote this whole book on a giant scroll of paper. Of course, some rich guy ended buying it for a ton of money, but he still sometimes puts it in a museum for us, mortals, to see,” she laughs.
[[You thank her for the book and head back.->6.1.1.]]
<img src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51O7649TvLL.jpg">You decide to
[[go check out what’s upstairs.->6.2 upstairs]]
(if:(history: where its name contains "6.2 upstairs")'s length is 0)[[go to the cash register to pay for the book and leave.->7]]
(if:(history: where its name contains "6.2 upstairs")'s length >= 1)[[go to the cash register to pay for the books and leave.->7.3]]“Oh, boy, what do they teach you in school these days? Allen Ginsberg was one of the greatest writers of my youth,” the man explains, putting down the book. “The man was brutally honest in his poetry. No one like him before -- in my opinion, of course. My friends and I were barely teenagers when we snuck into one of his performances. It was life changing. The man could hypnotise a whole room – and this was before he became famous! A literary genius, deserving of the title,” he explains theatrically.
[[“Does he still write?” you ask.]]The older man laughs a hearty laugh, and answers “no, no. They were great writers, those guys who used to put on these readings. Changed the game for sure -- no one could compete with Ginsberg, Kerouac, Burroughs and the like. But they were too into the vices of life. Booze, drugs, and anything else that wakes up the muse – they were the precursors to the hippies in this aspect. But, you know, at least with age Ginsberg realised this wasn't too good for him. I remember seeing this one interview with Ginsberg, where he explained how smoking was what killed all of the other beatniks before him. The man knew they were into some bad stuff back then,” the man explains.
[[“He sounds like a true artist. I’d love to read something by him,” you say.]]“Here,” the older man says, handing you a thin paperback. “//Howl// was the first one I ever heard by him, and it’s worth the read. A poem that changed English writing forever. Talks about everything our parent's didn't have the guts to talk about, you know. Racism, inequality, corruption, and the like. Only book you'd need to read, if the schools knew what to teach,” he laughs.
[[You thank him for the book, say goodbye, and go back downstairs.->6.2.1.]]
<img src="https://media.s-bol.com/7Ampw8Yml188/550x694.jpg">You decide to
[[go check out the bookshelves the employee is still stacking.->6.1 bookshelves]]
(if:(history: where its name contains "6.1 bookshelves")'s length is 0)[[go to the cash register to pay for the book and leave.->7]]
(if:(history: where its name contains "6.1 bookshelves")'s length >= 1)[[go to the cash register to pay for the books and leave.->7.3]] You decide to go to the cash register and pay for the book you got. The young man at the cash register seems nice but busy, taking boxes to the back room behind the register. He quickly scans your book, and disappears behind the door once again.
[[You pay and leave the bookstore.->9]]Once you meet your friends for dinner, you tell them about the amazing store you went to and they look over your purchase. You spend the night eating great food and drinking wine, doing a live reading of poetry you write on napkins at the restaurant. It’s almost like you’re channelling the energy of the writers from the store you visited today. You spend the night laughing and cheering each other on, a night you will remember for a long time.
[[back to start->0 INTRO]]
[[extra information->info]]You approach the cash register, and a young man greets you, smiling. “Classic picks,” he says, as he scans the books. “You know, we have some great stuff in the basement, if you want to take a look around. It’s where Ginsberg first performed //Howl// – or so they say,” he laughs. “I just finished taking down the last box of stuff downstairs. We're thinking of making another exhibition, this one about Ferlinghetti, the guy who opened this store. Do you want to see?” he asks you in a friendly manner.
You decide to
[[go take a look downstairs.->8]]
[[pay and leave, as you have to go meet your friends for dinner.->9]]
<img src="http://www.artsjournal.com/herman/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/David-Tom-Shot-2-CITY-LIGHTS.jpg">You follow the guy at the cash register as he leads you down a staircase to the basement. Once you reach the bottom, you are greeted by even more books, stacked in high piles. There are even more pictures covering the walls here than upstairs.
You notice a picture on the wall with some of the writers that can also be seen in other pictures. However, instead of the usual scenes of performing in front of crowds or talking to each other, this is a picture of, what looks like, a courtroom.
[[“Why are all of them in a courtroom?” you ask the man who is showing you around.]]
<img src="https://bancroft.berkeley.edu/collections/Shig_Murao/The_Howl_Trial_2_files/HowlTrial02.jpg">“Oh, that’s from the //Howl// trial,” he answers. “That’s Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the man who founded the shop,” he points to the man on the right in the picture. “He was put on trial for publishing Allen Ginsberg’s poem //Howl//, the same one you’ve got in your hands”, he points to the thinner book you got upstairs.
[[“Why did they go to a trial over a book?”]]“Well, things were a bit different back then,” the man explains. “The censorship laws back then were crazy strict. You couldn’t publish anything that “didn’t have artistic merit” as they used to say,” he says, using air quotes. “Back then, you could be charged with publishing obscenity if you did that, which is exactly what happened to Ferlinghetti,” he says.
[[“So, how did the trial go?” you ask, curious.]]“Well,” the man takes you around a corner to show more pictures of the same courtroom, “it took the whole summer of 1957. They got every single literary scholar around to testify, anybody with a voice that mattered really. Sat them in the box and the judge asked their opinion on the text,” he says.
“After almost every single one of those people said that it would be a disservice to American culture to censor Ginsberg’s writing, the prosecution fell apart quite quickly,” he explains, grinning. “It was a big deal back then – they basically changed the meaning of obscenity in the eyes of the law. Sure, there were bigger cases after this one, but this one started it all.”
[[“So Ferlinghetti won the trial?” you ask]]“Oh yeah, of course. Not sure if the store would still be standing today if he didn't. People got too scared of what it meant to control free speech in the times of the Cold War, and so they let them publish //Howl// and other beatnik writing. But, you know, it's crazy when you think about it. The older generation were so afraid of corrupting the youth with works like //Howl// that they didn’t even realise they were essentially denying writers freedom of speech,” he explains.
[["Wow, I didn't even think of that...Thank you for showing me around!->99]]“No problem!” he says.
After looking around for a while, you remember you have to meet up with your friends for dinner. After paying for your books and thanking the man for showing you around, you rush out the door.
[[continue->9]]Thank you for playing this Twine! If you were intrigued by what you have learned about today, here you can find the information I used (and more!) to create this game.
Careful! The links do ''not'' open in a new tab!
[[back to start->0 INTRO]]
<a href="https://citylights.com/our-story/a-short-history-of-city-lights/">The City Lights Bookstore and Publishing website, linked to its historical section</a>
<a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49303/howl">Poem text: //Howl// by Allen Ginsberg</a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-P2fILsLH8&t=1002s">YouTube: Allen Ginsberg reading //Howl//</a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txfNHEuS4wE">YouTube: A scene from the movie //Howl//, which focuses on the trial Lawrence Ferlinghetti was put on for publishing Allen Ginsberg's //Howl//</a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MITgcs_-rHU">Allen Ginsberg interviewed on Conan, 1994</a>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kerouac">Wikipedia: Jack Kerouac</a>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Ginsberg">Wikipedia: Allen Ginsberg</a>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat_Generation">Wikipedia: The Beat Generation</a>
<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/boom.2012.2.4.27?seq=1">Article: Ferlinghetti on Trial by Joel E. Black</a>
<a href="https://studybreaks.com/thoughts/beat-generation-censorship/">Article: In The Age Of Censorship, What Do We Owe The Beat Generation?</a>