Allen Tate

John Orley Allen Tate (November 19, 1899 – February 9, 1979) was an American poet, essayist, and social commentator, and Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, 1943–1944. Quotes They darted down and rose up like a waveOr buzzed impetuously as before;One would have thought the corpse was held a slaveTo living by the life it bore! "A Carrion", from Poems (1961) What is the flesh and blood compounded ofBut a few moments in the life of time?This prowling of the cells, litigious love,Wears the long claw of flesh-arguing crime. "I", from Collected Poems (1970) Now remember courage, go to the door,Open it and see whether coiled on the bedOr cringing by the wall, a savage beastMaybe with golden hair, with deep eyesLike a bearded spider on a sunlit floorWill snarl—and man can never be alone. "The Wolves", from Collected Poems (1970) Uncle Sam's other province. Description of the South, quoted in W. J. Cash, The Mind of the South (1962) p. vii External links Allen Tate at Poets.org Category:Essayists from the United States Category:1899 births Category:1979 deaths Category:Poets from Kentucky‎ Category:Georgetown Preparatory School alumni Category:Formalist poets