A Supermarket in California by Allen Ginsberg | Poetry Foundation

Non-regional discussions Food in the news & other media
1

Link thanks to Sam Sifton’s latest What to Cook:

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2

I wonder which market that was. The Shattuck Ave. Co-Op near where he was living didn’t open until 1965. Maybe the original on University.

3

According to @ernie_in_berkeley on HO:

“The Supermarket in California was in Berkeley at the corner of University and Grove St. Ginsberg lived a few blocks away on Milvia when he was writing Howl (and, I guess, Supermarket). Grove St. is now Martin Luther King Blvd, and the corner is now home to a Trader Joe’s.”

4

That’s right. The auto parts store that was torn down to build the Trader Joe’s was previously a supermarket. It also appeared in Robert Bechtle’s painting '60 Chevies.

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