Allen Tate facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Allen Tate
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| Born | November 19, 1899 Winchester, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | February 9, 1979 (aged 79) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Occupation | Poet, essayist |
| Education | Vanderbilt University |
| Genre | Poetry, literary criticism |
| Literary movement | New Criticism |
| Notable works | "Ode to the Confederate Dead" |
| Spouses |
(m. 1946; div. 1959)Isabella Gardner
(m. 1959; div. 1966)Helen Heinz
(m. 1966) |
John Orley Allen Tate (born November 19, 1899 – died February 9, 1979) was an important American poet and writer. He was known as Allen Tate. He also served as the official poet laureate for the United States from 1943 to 1944.
Some of his most famous works include the poems "Ode to the Confederate Dead" (1928) and "The Mediterranean" (1933). He also wrote one novel, The Fathers (1938). Allen Tate was part of a literary movement called New Criticism. He was also connected to two groups of Southern writers: the Fugitives and the Southern Agrarians.
Allen Tate's Life Story
Growing Up and Early Education
Allen Tate was born in 1899 near Winchester, Kentucky. His father, John Orley Tate, was a businessman. His mother, Eleanor Parke Custis Varnell, came from Virginia. She was a distant relative of George Washington.
When he was a teenager, in 1916 and 1917, Tate studied the violin. He attended the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.
College Days and the Fugitives
In 1918, Tate started college at Vanderbilt University. He was the first undergraduate student asked to join a special poetry group. This group met regularly to read and talk about their poems. Famous poets like John Crowe Ransom and Donald Davidson were part of it.
Tate graduated from Vanderbilt in 1922 with high honors. In the same year, the group started a poetry magazine called The Fugitive. This is why the group became known as the Fugitives. Tate also brought his younger friend, Robert Penn Warren, to some meetings. Warren later joined the group in 1923.
The Fugitives wanted to show that Southern writers could create important poetry. They focused on writing poems that were well-structured. They used careful meter (rhythm) and rhyme.
Later, from 1934 to 1936, Tate worked as an English lecturer. He taught at Louisiana State University.
Starting His Career in the 1920s
Allen Tate began his career as a literary critic in 1924. He wrote many book reviews for a newspaper called the Nashville Tennessean. He reviewed a book called An Anthology of Verse by American Negroes. He believed that the editors had missed some important Black writers. He especially praised Jean Toomer as a great Black literary artist.
In 1924, Tate moved to New York City. There, he met another poet, Hart Crane. Tate worked as a freelance writer for several magazines. These included The Nation and Poetry. To earn money, he also worked as a janitor.
In 1925, Tate married writer Caroline Gordon in New York. Their daughter, Nancy, was born later that year. In 1928, Tate traveled to Europe. He visited London and met T. S. Eliot, a poet he admired. He also spent time in Paris.
Tate published his first book of poetry, Mr. Pope and Other Poems, in 1928. This book included his well-known poem, "Ode to the Confederate Dead". He also published a biography of Stonewall Jackson: The Good Soldier that year.
In 1929, Tate published another biography. It was about Jefferson Davis: His Rise and Fall.
The 1930s: Writing and Ideas
After two years in Europe, the Tates returned to the United States in 1930. They moved to a large old house in Tennessee. This house was called Benfolly. Many famous writers visited them there. These visitors included Ford Madox Ford and Edmund Wilson.
Tate and other writers, including John Crowe Ransom and Donald Davidson, worked on a book together. It was called I'll Take My Stand. This book was published in 1930. It discussed ideas about the South and farming life.
During the 1930s, Tate published many of his major poetry collections. By 1937, he had written most of the shorter poems that made him famous. These poems included "Mother and Son" and "The Mediterranean".
In 1936, Tate and Herbert Agar edited a book called Who Owns America? A New Declaration of Independence. This book was very popular. It discussed ideas about American society and economics. That same year, Tate also published Reactionary Essays on Poetry and Idea.
In 1938, Tate published his only novel, The Fathers. This story was inspired by his mother's family history in Virginia.
The 1940s: Teaching and Recognition
From 1939 to 1942, Tate was a poet-in-residence at Princeton University. He started the university's Creative Writing Program. He also appeared on a popular CBS radio show called Invitation to Learning.
In 1943, Tate became the first Chair of Poetry at the Library of Congress. He helped establish programs for American writers. He also started recording famous poems for people who were blind. Tate was known for helping younger writers. He supported talents like Robert Lowell and John Berryman.
Tate also edited the Sewanee Review from 1944 to 1946. He published works by many important writers. These included Marianne Moore, Wallace Stevens, and T. S. Eliot. He made the magazine very popular and respected.
Tate and Caroline Gordon divorced in 1945 but remarried in 1946. They divorced again in 1959. Even though they divorced, they remained close friends throughout their lives.
From 1946 to 1951, the Tates lived in New York. Tate published Poems 1922–1947. He also taught at New York University. In 1949, he was elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters.
The 1950s: New Paths and Awards
In 1950, Allen Tate became a Catholic. His friend, the philosopher Jacques Maritain, was his godfather. His wife, Caroline Gordon, had joined the Church in 1947. Many of their friends and family followed them into the Church.
In 1951, Tate wrote a letter to The New York Times. He disagreed with a ban on an Italian film. The Supreme Court later used his letter in their decision to overturn the ban.
In 1951, Tate accepted a teaching position at the University of Minnesota. In 1952, he was one of six U.S. delegates to a cultural conference in Paris. Other delegates included William Faulkner and W. H. Auden. Later that year, he met Pope Pius XII in Rome. He also taught in Rome as a Fulbright Lecturer from 1953 to 1954.
Tate received the Bollingen Prize for Poetry in 1956. This was a very important award. He also taught at Harvard University and Brandeis University during the summers. In 1958, he received the Christian Culture Gold Medal in Canada.
In 1959, Caroline Gordon divorced Tate. Four days later, Tate married the poet Isabella Gardner (poet). His friend Francis Biddle, a former attorney general, was his best man.
To celebrate his 60th birthday, the Sewanee Review published a special issue. It was called "Homage to Allen Tate." Many famous writers contributed to it.
The 1960s: Continued Influence
In 1960, a recording of "'Allen Tate Reads from His Own Works'" was released. This helped start the Yale Series of Recorded Poets. Tate also edited Selected Poems of John Peale Bishop. His novel The Fathers was reprinted and received great reviews in Britain.
Tate published Poems in 1960. This book included two new poems, "The Swimmers" and "The Buried Lake." T. S. Eliot said these were the best poems written in that style in English.
In 1961, the Tates were invited to the inauguration of John F. Kennedy. Jacqueline Kennedy told Tate she had taken his picture when she was a newspaper photographer. Tate also received the Brandeis Creative Arts Medal in Poetry for his lifetime achievements.
Tate was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1964. This group has only 50 members. He was featured in a long article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune in 1965.
In 1966, Isabella Gardner divorced Tate. He then married Helen Heinz in July of that year. Tate became the first Regents Professor of English at the University of Minnesota.
In 1967, twin sons, John and Michael, were born to the Tates. Sadly, Michael died in July 1968 due to a tragic accident. Poet Robert Lowell wrote a poem in memory of Michael.
Tate retired from the University of Minnesota in June 1968. His family moved to Sewanee, Tennessee. He also edited The Complete Poems and Selected Criticism of Edgar Allan Poe. He published Essays of Four Decades. In December 1969, another son, Benjamin, was born.
The 1970s: Later Years and Legacy
In 1970, Tate gave a lecture at the University of Minnesota. He also read his poems at the Poetry International Festival in London. He and Helen spent time in Italy. He received an honorary degree from the University of the South.
Tate published The Swimmers and Other Selected Poems in 1971. He continued to lecture at universities to earn money. In 1972, he had to cancel a lecture due to bronchitis and emphysema. His former wife, Caroline Gordon, filled in for him.
In 1973, Tate gave three lectures at Princeton. He became very ill afterwards and was hospitalized. In 1974, he gave a lecture at the Library of Congress to celebrate Robert Frost's 100th birthday.
Tate's 75th birthday was celebrated with events in Sewanee and London. Many famous writers and friends attended. He was too weak to attend the public events but enjoyed the social gatherings.
In 1975, Tate was hospitalized again after a coma. He became bedridden. His book Memoirs and Opinions, 1926-1974 was published. He received the Ingram Merrill Foundation's Award in Literature. In 1976, he was awarded the National Medal for Literature.
The Tates moved to Nashville to be closer to his lung specialist. They were received back into the Catholic Church. Tate had many visitors in his room. He was connected to an oxygen tank.
His book Collected Poems, 1916-1976 was published in 1977. It won the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize for the best book of poems that year.
Allen Tate passed away in Vanderbilt Hospital on February 9, 1979. He was buried in Sewanee.
Awards and Honors
- Bollingen Prize for Poetry, 1956.
- Christian Culture Gold Medal, Canada, 1958.
- Brandeis Medal in Poetry for Lifetime Achievement, 1961.
- Dante Medal, Italy, 1962.
- Ingram Merrill Foundation Award in Literature, 1975.
- National Medal for Literature, 1976.
- Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize for Poems, 1919-1976, 1978.
See Also
- New Criticism
- Fugitives (poets)
- Southern Agrarians
Images for kids
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Allen Tate in a formal portrait.
