“A Supermarket in California” by Allen Ginsberg

While reading this poem, I was a little confused about the meaning of this poem. However, after reading it several times I find that this poem tells of the poet-Allen Ginsberg's interest in Walt Whitman, an American poet and journalist. Allen Ginsberg wrote "A Supermarket in California" while he was living in Berkeley, California in 1955. This poem is one of Ginsberg's poetry that received the great influence of the American poet, Walt Whitman. Whitman, considered to be the first Native American poet of the nineteenth century, had an influence on Ginsberg's writing. His poetic style experimented on metering and rhythm and avoided the structured lines and verses that were standard forms of poetry at the time. He was an American poet who first introduced freestyle poetry, he also added unusual images and symbols to his poetry, his freedom in poetry earned him the nickname 'father of free verse'. Whitman is known as an eccentric person, both because of his writing style and lifestyle. Most of his poetry deals with nature and the encroachment of industrial society and about America. Additionally, Whitman's poetry often uses veiled references to promote spiritual and sexual freedom. Whitman himself is believed to be homosexual or bisexual.

Ginsberg strives to continue Whitman's legacy in the same style. He was inspired by Whitman's use of varied lines and breaths. "A Supermarket in California," describes domesticated life that is symbolized food placed outside its natural context. In addition, "A Supermarket in California" also alludes to the hidden sexual world, veiled in ordinary things. Ginsberg also paid tribute to another influence in this poem, Garcia Lorca. Lorca is an influential Spanish poet of the early 20th century. Lorca was assassinated at the start of the Spanish Civil War by right-wing Spanish Nationalists because of his own leftist political views. Lorca influenced Ginsberg mainly because of his own homage to Whitman in his own poetry. Like Ginsberg, Lorca sees as an influence Whitman's disregard for poetic structure and rules and for his controversial subjects that value free thought and expression over cultural appropriateness.

In his poem, "A Supermarket in California," the narrator begins with a line that sounds hopeless and sad and it can be specified that he is trying to take the point of view of the person he admires for a solution. In the opening lines, I find that the poet's admiration for Walt Whitman attracted him to be able to find solutions. In this poem too, there is a symbolism of nature where it is said that he was walking by the side of the road under the trees and in the moonlight with a headache and feeling hungry. The moonlight here can be contrasted with the neon lamps in supermarkets as the poet's imagination. He dreams of "enumerating" or numbering or lists of things. He imagines entering a supermarket with many customers in it and he is amazed by the amount of food and people in the market. In this verse, I am invited to be able to see a list of things the poet saw in the shop. He also saw the presence of the poet Garcia Lorca, which may be attributed to his interest in the works of Walt Whitman as a role model. Only reading the first verse, the poet has presented an interesting poem to continue reading.

Deeper in reading this poem, I am presented with a scene where the narrator meets the figure of the poet he admires, Walt Whitman, who is the main subject in poetry. The narrator describes Walt Whitman as a very sad person who is quoted in his poem "..., childless, lonely old grubber, poking among the meats in the refrigerator and eyeing the grocery boys." The narrator makes Whitman sound a little creepy as a lonely old man and watches the boys. Then, the Narrator imagines the figure, follows Whitman, and tries to talk and walk with him in the corridor tasting the delicious foods in the supermarket. They have fun at the supermarket without going past the cashier to - perhaps - pay for their meal. Really like a fun children's fantasy.

Entering the third stanza, the narrator asks Whitman where they are going because the supermarket is closing in an hour. The narrator realizes that this image will not last forever. In the line in his poem "(I touch your book and dream of our odyssey in the supermarket and feel absurd.)", The writer puts brackets in his sentence perhaps as a realization that his imagination doesn't make sense. Then, it is interesting that the narrator then called Whitman as “…dear father…” perhaps because of his admiration for his work and life. At the end of this line of poetry, it seems to be very sad. The narrator seems to say that Whitman should watch America ideally disappear. I enjoy reading these verses because I think the meaning the poet wants to express is interesting and fun.

Ginsberg wrote the poem in the first person and describes his experiences of America and the influence of the poet Walt Whitman on his work. This poem tells about his personal views about the American state of his time. He wanted to show the irony of being a 'free' American in the 19th century, as is highlighted in Whitman's poetry. The poem summarizes some of the questions the narrator posed to Walt Whitman as he was deep in thought about America. “A supermarket in California” vividly illustrates Whitman's immense influence on Ginsberg. Ginsberg's ability to recreate Whitman's flavor in a poem that is still his is what makes "A Supermarket in California" such a fantastic piece.