A Supermarket in California

“A Supermarket in California” is a prose poem composed of 12 lines. The lines are written in free verse without a formal adherence to meter. However, there is clear attention paid to the natural rhythms of human speech. The poem’s rhythm comes from its use of strophes, which are grouped lines that in turn affect a sense of pacing and add a poetic flair to Ginsberg’s prose. Ginsberg, being a Beat poet, also uses runs of words that, at moments, are long-winded and difficult to read through, such as, “I walked down the sidestreets under the trees with a headache self-conscious looking at the full moon” (Line 1). These sentences effectively convey a stream-of-consciousness style often associated with the Beat school of poetry and larger literary conventions of that movement.

Ginsberg’s most famous poem, “Howl,” is a prime example of a poem written in strophes. “A Supermarket in California” also utilizes the device. A strophe is a grouping of words, or lines, written in free verse that, while not stanzas, effectively act as stanzas by grouping together thoughts and phrases that otherwise form distinct non-isomorphic units.