Collected Poems, 1919-1976 (FSG Classics) [Paperback]

Allen Tate (Author), Christopher Benfey (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 16, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0374530955 | ISBN-13: 978-0374530952 | Edition: First Edition

One of the early-twentieth century Southern intellectuals and artists of the early twentieth century  known as the Agrarians, Allen Tate wrote poetry that was rooted strongly in that region's past--in the land, the people, and the traditions of the American South as well as in the forms and concerns of the classic poets. In "Ode to the Confederate Dead"-- generally recognized as his greatest poem--he delineates both the horror of the sight of rows of tombstones at a Confederate cemetery and the honor that such sacrifice embodies, resulting in "a masterpiece that could not be transcended" (William Pratt). 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Allen Tate is the supreme classicist, the most convincingly grandiloquent orator, of his generation. The rhetoric of his monologues, analyzing the sublime decadence of the moral and political scene, is gloomy, scornful and yet icily aloof. The more philosophical poems tease the reader with ironies of existence and morality. Everywhere is an easy 17th-century formality, sureness with myth, and habit of cadence and judgment…. It is simply important to have Tate again in print, accessible to a couple of generations of readers who probably hardly know him." 
 -John Fuller, on the hardcover publication of Collected Poems 1919-1976 in 1977

About the Author

Allen Tate (1899-1979) was born in Winchester, Kentucky, and spent much of his adult life teaching  first in the South, then in Minnesota. He is also the author of the novel The Fathers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; First Edition edition (October 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374530955
• ISBN-13: 978-0374530952
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #721,824 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tate's Collected Poems, November 30, 2007

By 

William C. Pratt (Oxford,, OH USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Collected Poems, 1919-1976 (FSG Classics) (Paperback)

Allen Tate is one of the finest poets of the 20th Century and it is a pleasure to be able to read his poetry again in the fullest collection to date. There are some signature poems like "The Mediterranean" and "Ode to the Confederate Dead" and "The Swimmers" which would stand out in any collection of Modern Poetry. There are minor masterpieces as well, such as "Death of Little Boys" and "Aeneas in Washington" and "Seasons of the Soul" to which a reader would want to return many times. Just reading Tate's poetry at the present time makes one realize how meagre current poetry is and what greatness lies in the past century.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Collection of One of 20th Century America's Leading Poets, May 16, 2010

By 

Kevin M. Derby (Florida) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Collected Poems, 1919-1976 (FSG Classics) (Paperback)

This collection reveals how talented a poet Allen Tate was. While "Aeneas in Washington" and "Ode to the Confederate Dead" are included in some anthologies, this book reveals the depth of his work. Tate could be very funny--his poem "William Blake" had me laughing my head off. Tate is always interesting and his poems reveal a good deal of this thinking on politics, war, American history and Christianity. Tate was inspired by the poems of the past and showed how they could be crafted even in a period when rhyme, rhythm, form and structure were not always appreciated. The introduction by Christopher Benfey was solid and not too in-depth to become cumbersome. I wish the work had been arranged more by chronology; some of the earlier poems show up at the end and took away from understanding Tate's development over the years.