Poetry for Students Vol. 10

Dear Reader

As readers of James Tate’s poems, weare the sub-

ject of this one, aptly titled “Dear Reader.” Upon

finishing it, we may not think there is much “dear”

involved, but, to the contrary, Tate is skilled at un-

derlining the seemingly offensive with a hint of lov-

ing concern and drawing on the absurd to make al-

most-sense. “Dear Reader” is a typical Tate poem

in its surreal setting, placing both speaker and sub-

ject in a bizarre place performing bizarre actions,

but the poet presents the scene as though it is nat-

ural and, therefore, not too obscure to understand.

Often, when a poet or fiction writer indulges in un-

real and unusual circumstances, readers are left out

in the cold—becoming bystanders to actions that

take place only in the writer’s mind. “Dear Reader”

may leave us perplexed at first, but the poem’s in-

tention manages to work its way into our own heads

by the time it is over. We may be in the cold for a

while, but we are not left there.

Writing a poem that directly addresses the per-

son(s) reading it is by no means unique to James

Tate, nor to the genre of poetry. Most often, how-

ever, the sentiment is one of “gentleness” and ap-

preciation. A common practice in nineteenth-cen-

tury writing—especially fiction—was to break up

a sentence with the direct address “gentle reader,”

serving to draw us more closely into the events tak-

ing place or the thoughts of the persona. Tate’s

poem certainly draws us in, from the title on, but

not with such softness or kindness. Still, a close

read reveals less of the speaker’s curtness, or rude-

ness, and more of his feelings of inadequacy and

James Tate

1970

84 Poetry for Students