Effortless English
Cafe Puccini
Publish Date:December 28th, 2006
spot:place
immigrants:foreigners who cometo live in a (new) countryperiod:timeserved as:was
literary:re: writing and booksrenaissance:a time of artisticimprovement; a time of art (andscience)
in particular:specificallydeveloped:made, createdstyle:way of doing somethingchallenged:disagreed withconservative:traditional; old;against change
uniquely:specially; not like othersliberal:new; wanting change andimprovement; open
credit:compliment; identify
renaissance:a time of great art(and science)
various:different, some
focal point:center point; gather-ing place
the movement:a change in socie-ty; a group trying to change socie-ty
anarchist:political group that isagainst authority and controlmade history:became famous;did something famous
controversial:creates conflict ordisagreement
shocked:surprised and angeredmainstream:normal (society, cul-ture)
independent publishers:a smallbookstore or publisher (not achain)
wealthier residents:richer people(living in the neighborhood)
the literary scene:the writing sit-uation (in the city)
entrepreneurs:businesspeoplewho start and own a business
All Sound (Audio) Archives Available At:http://www.effortlessenglish.libsyn.com
My favorite spotin San Francisco is Cafe Puccini- located in theNorth Beach neighborhood of the city. North Beach has a long andinteresting history. It was originally the neighborhood for Italian immi-grantsin the city- and even today it has many Italian people, cafes,and restaurants. As a kid, the famous baseball player Joe Dimaggiolived in North Beach.
The most famous periodfor the neighborhood, however, was in thelate 1950s and the 1960s--when North Beach served asthe center ofSan Francisco's literaryrenaissance. In particular, North Beachwas home to the Beat writers and poets. The Beats developedanew, free, open styleof writing. They also challengedthe conser-vativesociety of America in the 50s, and helped create San
Francisco's uniquelyliberalculture. Many creditthe Beats as thefathers and mothers of the 1960s cultural renaissancein America. Among the most famous Beat writers were Jack Kerouac, Allen
Ginsberg, and Gary Snyder- all of whom lived in North Beach at vari-oustimes in their lives. The focalpointof the movementwas CityLights Bookstore- owned by the anarchistpoet Lawrence
Ferlinghetti. In the 1950s, City Lights made historywhen they pub-lished Allen Ginsberg's controversialpoem \"Howl\"- which shockedmainstreamAmericans at the time. Soon after, Jack Kerouac fol-lowed with his books \"On The Road\" and \"The Dharma Bums\"-- andthe Beat movement was born. Ferlinghetti is still the owner of thebookstore, and City Lights is still a popular independentpublisher. And North Beach is still home to artists and writers, although it hasbecome much more expensive and now attracts wealthierresidentsas well as tourists. Even though the literary sceneis not what itused to be- North Beach still has many family owned cafes. You'llfind artists, writers, poets, entrepreneurs, musicians, businesspeo-ple, and tourists relaxing together in them.
www.effortlessenglish.com
named after:given the samename as someone or somethingcomposer:someone who writesmusichold:have; doanimated:emotional; having a lotof movement and gesturesMy favorite is Cafe Puccini, which is named afterthe Italian operacomposer. The cafe owner is Italian. He often plays opera music,and every day he sits at a table in the back and chats with his friends.They holdlong animatedconversations in Italian, adding to themusic of the place. I go to that cafe often. I usually get a mocha, find a small table, andthen write articles for Effortless English. Sometimes I study a littleSpanish or Japanese. Sometimes I read. Sometimes I just watch thepeople walk by the windows. The staff never seems to mindthat Istay a long time- they are always friendly. On sunny days I sit at a table on the sidewalk, but now, during thewinter, I stay indoors. If you get a chance to visit San Francisco, stop by Cafe Puccini. Itslocated near theintersectionof Columbus and Vallejo streets, inNorth Beach. Be sure to bring a book by Kerouac or Ginsberg. Sit ,enjoy the opera music, and relax for a while. No one will hurryyou. Learn More:North Beachhttp://www.sfnorthbeach.org/Jack Kerouachttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_KerouacAllen Ginsberghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_GinsbergGary Snyderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Snyderto mind:to be bothered; to care the intersection:where two (ormore) streets cross each otherhurry:rush; make you leavequicklywww.effortlessenglish.com
