So the poet, who wants to be something that he cannot be, and is a failure in plain life, makes up fictitious versions of his predicament that are interesting even to other persons because nobody is a perfect automobile salesman.

Quote by Allen Tate

Topics: Allen Tate Quotes

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...

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...

Men expect too much, do too little.

Men expect too much, do too little.

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...

Religion is the sole technique for the validating of values.

Religion is the sole technique for the validating of values.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Other psychological theories say a good deal about compensation.

Other psychological theories say a good deal about compensation.

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...

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...

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

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

The Spring I seek is in a new face only.

The Spring I seek is in a new face only.

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...

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!

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.