Adriane Dutra, Ester Cruz, Melissa Ferreira

and Vitor Moraes present:

A supermarket in
California
BY ALLEN GINSBERG
Irwin Allen Ginsberg
(1926-1997)
was an acclaimed poet and a leading figure of the Beat
Generation whose radical literary works and advocacy for
social change left an indelible mark on American
counterculture.

Newark, New Jersey, EUA

“Follow your inner moonlight; don't hide the
madness.” (1956)

New York, Nova York, EUA

“The weight of the world is love. Under the burden of
solitude, under the burden of dissatisfaction the
weight,the weight we carry is love.” (1956)
A supermarket in
California
Historical Context
Post World War II in America
Cultural Change
Beat Generation

Meaning
Artificial environment of the supermarket
Consumerism Alienation
Tough criticism to superficiality.

Form/Structure
Free verse
Conversational tone
Flowing lines
Short stanzas
Allen Ginsberg reading the poem:

“A supermarket in
California” on
Youtube
CLICK HERE

What thoughts I have of you
tonight, Walt Whitman, for I
walked down the sidestreets
under the (…) dreaming of
your enumerations!
Poem analysis
I saw you, Walt Whitman,
What peaches and what Where are we going, Walt
childless, lonely old grubber,
penumbras! Whole families Whitman? The doors close in
poking among the meats in
shopping at night! Aisles full an hour. Which way does
the (…) possessing every
of (…) doing down by the your beard (…) disappear on
frozen delicacy, and never
watermelons? the black waters of Lethe?
passing the cashier.
Thank you for your
attention!
References
A SUPERMARKET in California: written by Allen Ginsberg, drawn by Nathan Gelgud. [S. l.],
2017. Available in: https://nathangelgud.com/post/145259843512/a-supermarket-in-
california-client-penguin. Accessed on: May 5th, 2024.

MANE, Dr. Prabhanjan. Allen Ginsberg's Vision of America in A Supermarket in California.

Literary Endeavour, Shivaji University, v. X, n. 2, p. 1-5, 1 abr. 2019.