Outgoing
City Lights Booksellers & Publishers 1
Bookstore
City Lights Booksellers & Publishers 2
City Lights Booksellers & Publishers 3
City Lights Booksellers & Publishers 4
City Lights Booksellers & Publishers 5

City Lights Booksellers & Publishers

Chinatown

This three-floor literary landmark has been a sanctuary for rebels and readers since 1953. Climb the creaky stairs to the poetry room upstairs, settle into the Poet's Chair overlooking Jack Kerouac Alley, and browse the same shelves that once held Ginsberg's "Howl."

Historic indie bookstore
Three floors of curated reads
Poetry room upstairs
Creaky wooden staircases

Tips

๐Ÿ“š"This bookstore is a living museum. Since 1953."
๐Ÿ“–"Why not buy a copy of On the Road โ€” you won't find a better place to get it!"
๐Ÿช‘head upstairs to the Poet's Chair by the window

City Lights Booksellers & Publishers

261 Columbus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133, USA

Free

Upcoming at City Lights Booksellers & Publishers

Sunday, Jul 26
Maxine Chernoff & Friends

Maxine Chernoff & Friends

July 26 at 12pm

Spend a Sunday afternoon under the open sky with some of San Francisco's most celebrated poets. Maxine Chernoff launches her new collection, DIARY:POEMS, joined by fellow writers for readings and conversation in the legendary alley beside City Lights.

Tuesday, Jul 28
Wesleyan University Press Showcase

Wesleyan University Press Showcase

July 28 at 6pm

Four poets, four radically different worlds: reimagined Nahuatl songs, Cassandra's burning prophecies, horror under Korean authoritarianism, and a stuttering language of desire. City Lights and Wesleyan University Press bring you an evening of ambitious new work, read live from the page.

Sunday, Aug 23
Beyond Baroque @ City Lights

Beyond Baroque @ City Lights

August 23 at 12pm

Step into Kerouac Alley for an afternoon of fresh poetry from Beyond Baroque's rising voices. Four SoCal poets bring their words to the historic alley between City Lights and Vesuvio: bring a blanket and settle in.