Buddhism in Allen Ginsberg’s Poetry. A Reaction towards Consumerism

Abstract

This essay is an analysis of Allen Ginsberg´s poetry in relation to Buddhism as a reaction towards the world of consumerism. The main point of this study is to see the contrast between the two discourses that are joined in Ginsberg’s poetical work: the Western and the Eastern, analysing Buddhist philosophy as a way of understanding some of Ginsberg’s poems. To explore this, the following poems will be analysed: “Angkor Wat”, “The Change: Kyoto-Tokyo Express”, “Thoughts Sitting Breathing” and “Gospel Noble Truths”, which can be found in Allen Ginsberg’s Collected Poems 1947-1980.