Howl

"A Supermarket in California" by Allen Ginsberg (1956)

“A Supermarket in California” is another famous poem by Ginsberg and much shorter than “Howl,” though with abundant similarity in writing style and flow. In the poem, Ginsberg walks into a market lit by artificial light at night and sees Walt Whitman, his literary forefather, cruising the aisles. “A Supermarket in California” continues themes of visions, longing, desire, and legacy from “Howl.”

"Kaddish" by Allen Ginsberg (1957-1959)

Ginsberg wrote “Kaddish” for his mother, Naomi (1894-1956), who died institutionalized in Greystone Hospital. Kaddish is the Jewish prayer for mourning, and a remembrance for the dead. The poem addresses both Naomi’s mental illness and Ginsberg’s experiences dealing with his mother’s illness and institutionalization.

"The Canticle of Jack Kerouac" by Lawrence Ferlinghetti (March-April 1987)

Lawrence Ferlinghetti was the co-owner of the now-legendary San Franciscan City Lights Bookstore, the publisher of “Howl,” and a central figure for many Beat writers. Ferlinghetti was also a poet, playwright, and activist. This poem gives another glimpse into the lives of the Beat poets by someone other than Ginsberg, and its subject is a writer (and lover) close to Ginsberg’s own heart. It’s also written decades after the height of the Beat Movement, providing a retroactive look into the time.