Sunflower Sutra

E305337

Sunflower Sutra is a poem by Allen Ginsberg that blends vivid imagery and social critique to lament industrial decay while affirming a resilient, spiritual beauty in America.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Sunflower Sutra canonical 3

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf literary work ⓘ
poem ⓘ
addressedTo sunflower ⓘ
associatedWith San Francisco Renaissance ⓘ
author Allen Ginsberg ⓘ
containsSocialCritiqueOf American consumerism ⓘ
industrial society ⓘ
countryOfOrigin United States ⓘ
dateWritten 1955 ⓘ
firstPublishedIn Howl and Other Poems ⓘ
linked to: Howl
form free verse ⓘ
genre Beat poetry ⓘ
hasInfluenceOn American countercultural literature ⓘ
later environmental poetry ⓘ
imagery machinery ⓘ
railroad tracks ⓘ
smoke and soot ⓘ
sunflower ⓘ
language English ⓘ
literaryDevice apostrophe ⓘ
imagery ⓘ
repetition ⓘ
symbolism ⓘ
literaryPeriod 20th century American poetry ⓘ
meter irregular ⓘ
movement Beat Generation ⓘ
notableLine "Poor dead flower? when did you forget you were a flower?" ⓘ
"we're not our skin of grime" ⓘ
partOf Allen Ginsberg's early poetic oeuvre ⓘ
placeWritten Richmond, California ⓘ
publisher City Lights Books ⓘ
relatedWorkByAuthor America ⓘ
Howl ⓘ
rhymeScheme none ⓘ
setting railroad yard in Richmond, California ⓘ
symbol sunflower as corrupted natural beauty ⓘ
sunflower as resilient spiritual core ⓘ
theme American identity ⓘ
critique of materialism ⓘ
environmental degradation ⓘ
hope ⓘ
industrial decay ⓘ
redemption ⓘ
spiritual beauty ⓘ
urban and industrial blight ⓘ
tone lamenting ⓘ
prophetic ⓘ
ultimately affirmative ⓘ
yearOfPublication 1956 ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Allen Ginsberg → notableWork → Sunflower Sutra ⓘ
Howl and Other Poems → containsWork → Sunflower Sutra ⓘ
subject linked to: "Howl and Other Poems"