Allen Ginsberg's "A Supermarket in California"

Allen Ginsberg's "A Supermarket in California" Presented much like a spontaneous journal or diary entry, Allen Ginsberg's "A Supermarket in California" is a complex and multifaceted poem that stands as an indictment against American government and culture. The opening lines of the poem forward the aforementioned journal-like quality and also present the central focal point of tension in the poem as a whole. The opening line specifically expresses a tone of wistfulness or even sadness: "What thoughts I have of you tonight, Walt Whitman" (Ginsberg, 1). The evocation of Whitman's name is an obvious symbol of optimism or even idealism. Due to the wide-ranging nature of Whitman's own writings, the sense of idealization is meant to extend to philosophy and politics as well as poetry. The opening line sets up the poem's central tension by contrasting idealization with cynical reality. The tone is established even before the first lien due to the brilliant title which evokes both the optimistic westward expansion of America's history (California) and the practical demand of the American political and cultural systems to adequately provide for the American people (Supermarket). It is important to recognize, that throughout the poem, Ginsberg intends the symbolic nature of the poem's setting of a supermarket to stand for much more than physical food. A close inspection of the poem indicates that Ginsberg meant that the promise of America, as envisioned by Whitman included moral, psychic, and spiritual "food" as well. Therefore, the specific word "supermarket" must be understood as ironic in nature. This assertion is confirmed early in the poem. The speaker of the poem imagines he see Whitman himself in the supermarket: "I saw you, Walt Whitman, childless, lonely old grubber, /poking among the meats in the refrigerator and eyeing the grocery/ boys." (Ginsberg, 10-12). The irony of the scene becomes clear: an idealized vision of Whitman contrasted with the urban

Cited: Ginsberg, Allen. “A Supermarket in California.” Postmodern American Poetry. Ed. Paul Hoover. New York: W. W. Norton and Co., 1994. 135.