Ferlinghetti and Kael Named Joint Winners of NBCC's Sandrof Award

Staff -- Library Journal, 3/6/2000

The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) have announced that poet, bookseller, and Beat legend Lawrence Ferlinghetti and film critic Pauline Kael are the joint winners of the 1999 Ivan Sandrof Award. Though the prize typically is bestowed only to a single individual, NBCC President Barbara Hoffert told LJDigital the duo have a certain symmetry that is oddly complementary. Though Ferlinghetti remains true to his bohemian San Francisco roots and shies from the New York publishing scene and Kael is at the center of New York criticism, Hoffert said that both winners are "mavericks" who "changed the shape of our industry." The two are also linked by a past history: Ferlinghetti published Kael's first film review in his City Lights magazine several decades ago.