Sometime During Eternity . . .

“Sometime During Eternity” first appeared in Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s second poetry collection, A Coney Island of the Mind (1958). The collection became Ferlinghetti’s best-known work, selling over a million copies and cementing his reputation as a noteworthy American poet. “Sometime During Eternity” is a satirical lyric poem that recounts the messianism of Jesus and the unpredictable ways in which stories are told and reshaped over the ensuring centuries. With its unconventional layout and punctuation, liberal use of slang, and irreverent take on its subject, the poem embodies some of Ferlinghetti’s quintessential poetic characteristics. It also offers a snapshot into the avant-garde literary scene in the United States during the mid-20th century, in which Ferlinghetti and many of his contemporaries chose to challenge the sensibilities and moral certainties of post-World War II American culture.

Poet Biography

Lawrence Ferlinghetti was born in New York on March 24, 1919—the youngest of five children. His father was an Italian immigrant and his mother was of Portuguese descent. Ferlinghetti did not get the chance to know either of his parents well: His father died before he was born and his mother was committed to a mental asylum when Ferlinghetti was only a few years old. Years of upheaval and displacement followed as young Ferlinghetti was shuffled between orphanages and relatives. He was eventually taken in by a wealthy family who provided him with more stability and a good education by sending him to private school.

As a young man, Ferlinghetti studied journalism at the University of North Carolina. Upon the outbreak of World War II and the United States’s eventual involvement, he enlisted and served in the Navy. After the war ended, he returned to his university education, finishing in 1951 with a PhD in Comparative Literature at the University of Paris. He returned to the United States, settling in San Francisco, California—a place that remained the centerpiece of his personal and literary activities for the rest of his life.

In 1953 Ferlinghetti cofounded the City Lights bookstore in San Francisco, which also had a publishing arm. He attracted nationwide attention when, after publishing Allen Ginsberg’s Howl in 1956, he was put on trial for publishing obscene material. He was acquitted in 1957. Undeterred by this brush with the authorities, Ferlinghetti continued to run the bookstore and publish new and experimental works; he is known for championing the works of gay and lesbian authors and other famous Beat poets.

Ferlinghetti lived for more than a century, dying at 101 on February 22, 2021. Ferlinghetti was married once, to Selden Kirby-Smith, but their marriage ended in divorce in 1976 after 25 years. The couple had a son and a daughter, and at the time of his death, Ferlinghetti also had three grandchildren.

As a poet, Ferlinghetti is best remembered for his second poetry collection, A Coney Island of the Mind (1958). To date, the collection has sold over a million copies. Apart from his literary activities, Ferlinghetti was also known as a painter and dedicated social activist throughout all the decades of his long life. His poetry is marked by an experimental sensibility in terms of both style and subject matter, which reflects the innovative literary culture in which Ferlinghetti played such a prominent part.

Poem Text

Ferlinghetti, Lawrence. “Sometime During Eternity.” 1958. Poetry Foundation.

Summary

“Sometime During Eternity” is a satirical retelling of the origins of Christianity and its afterlife as a world religion. The poem opens with the speaker describing how a group of men—a figure who seems to be Jesus and, potentially, his disciples—suddenly appear one day. The speaker describes the Jesus figure as an unconventional man of low social origins who begins to make claims about knowing the secrets of heaven and earth and being the son of God. The Jesus figure tells his audience about the Dead Sea Scrolls, which the speaker adds will not be found for nearly 2000 years afterwards.

The speaker recounts the skepticism of those who hear the Jesus figure’s claims, and alludes to his crucifixion on the Cross which eventually becomes a relic of religious devotion by believers. The speaker remarks upon how the Jesus figure never comes down from his Cross in spite of his believers’ pleas, and concludes the poem with an ironic remark about how although Jesus may present a compelling figure on the Cross, he is nevertheless rumored to be dead.