For some reason most critics have a hard time fixing their minds directly under their noses, and before they see the object that is there they use a telescope upon the horizon to see where it came from.

Quote by Allen Tate

Topics: Allen Tate Quotes

We know the particular poem, not what it says that we can restate.

We know the particular poem, not what it says that we can restate.

Men expect too much, do too little.

Men expect too much, do too little.

According to its doctors, my one intransigent desire is to have been a Confederate general,...

According to its doctors, my one intransigent desire is to have been a Confederate general,...

The innocent mansion of a panther's heart!

The innocent mansion of a panther's heart!

How does one happen to write a poem: where does it come from? That is...

How does one happen to write a poem: where does it come from? That is...

Narcissism and the Confederate dead cannot be connected logically, or even historically; even were the...

Narcissism and the Confederate dead cannot be connected logically, or even historically; even were the...

Experience means conflict, our natures being what they are, and conflict means drama.

Experience means conflict, our natures being what they are, and conflict means drama.

So the poet, who wants to be something that he cannot be, and is a...

So the poet, who wants to be something that he cannot be, and is a...

A poem may be an instance of morality, of social conditions, of psychological history; it...

A poem may be an instance of morality, of social conditions, of psychological history; it...

At twelve I was determined to shoot only For honor; at twenty not to shoot...

At twelve I was determined to shoot only For honor; at twenty not to shoot...

In a manner of speaking, the poem is its own knower, neither poet nor reader...

In a manner of speaking, the poem is its own knower, neither poet nor reader...

The Spring I seek is in a new face only.

The Spring I seek is in a new face only.

What is the poem, after it is written? That is the question. Not where it...

What is the poem, after it is written? That is the question. Not where it...

Dramatic experience is not logical; it may be subdued to the kind of coherence that...

Dramatic experience is not logical; it may be subdued to the kind of coherence that...

I am not ridiculing verbal mechanisms, dreams, or repressions as origins of poetry; all three...

I am not ridiculing verbal mechanisms, dreams, or repressions as origins of poetry; all three...

Religion is the sole technique for the validating of values.

Religion is the sole technique for the validating of values.

Other psychological theories say a good deal about compensation.

Other psychological theories say a good deal about compensation.

But in our age the appeal to authority is weak, and I am of my...

But in our age the appeal to authority is weak, and I am of my...

There is probably nothing wrong with art for art's sake if we take the phrase...

There is probably nothing wrong with art for art's sake if we take the phrase...

I believe the term modulation denotes in music the uninterrupted shift from one key to...

I believe the term modulation denotes in music the uninterrupted shift from one key to...