I am not ridiculing verbal mechanisms, dreams, or repressions as origins of poetry; all three of them and more besides may have a great deal to do with it.

Quote by Allen Tate

Topics: Allen Tate Quotes

Poets, in their way, are practical men; they are interested in results.

Poets, in their way, are practical men; they are interested in results.

The innocent mansion of a panther's heart!

The innocent mansion of a panther's heart!

Serious poetry deals with the fundamental conflicts that cannot be logically resolved: we can state...

Serious poetry deals with the fundamental conflicts that cannot be logically resolved: we can state...

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...

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...

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...

Genetic theories, I gather, have been cherished academically with detachment.

Genetic theories, I gather, have been cherished academically with detachment.

The mission for the day is to encourage students to think beyond traditional career opportunities,...

The mission for the day is to encourage students to think beyond traditional career opportunities,...

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...

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.

For some reason most critics have a hard time fixing their minds directly under their...

For some reason most critics have a hard time fixing their minds directly under their...

The Spring I seek is in a new face only.

The Spring I seek is in a new face only.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

The only real evidence that any critic may bring before his gaze is the finished...

The only real evidence that any critic may bring before his gaze is the finished...

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.