Volume 10 89

all picture and understand caskets, snowflakes,
sleet, hands rubbing together, fire, and the moon.
It is what Tate does with these images—how he
uses them together—that turns the real into the
surreal.

What we can say about the historical and cul-
tural perspective of this poem, or about Tate’s work
in general, must come from the poet himself. Dur-
ing an interview conducted over a three-year period,
from 1975 to 1978, Tate answered questions from
fellow poets and critics Helena Minton, Lou Pap-
ineau, and Cliff Saunders for an article which even-
tually appeared in various journals and in Tate’s own
collection, The Route as Briefed.The discussion cen-
tered on all of the poet’s collections up to that point,
includingThe Oblivion Ha-Ha.When asked whether
he saw himself and other poets as social historians,
Tate responded, “I wouldn’t mind that particularly,
but I think it happens to you unwittingly. If one suc-
ceeds in being spoken through by one’s times, then
you’re bound to reflect it.” Given that Tate’s early
work was written and published during the Vietnam
War era, it would have been easy for him to use that
conflict and the resulting social turmoil as a back-
drop for his work as so many other poets and writ-
ers were doing in the 1960s and 1970s. But when
asked the question, “Did you ever write any blatant
antiwar poems?” Tate said, “I find that all too obvi-
ous; you can get all that matters on the news, and
I’m not a bit interested in some poet’s righteous
opining. In fact I find it offensive to be slapping
yourself on the back because you don’t believe in
killing babies, as so many poets were doing at the

time. I mean, did you ever meet anybody who said,

‘Yeah, I liketo kill babies’?”

The most revealing point in Tate’s comments

is the fact that he finds antiwar poems—and, pre-

sumably, other blatantly opinionated pieces—as

“all too obvious.” This would account for his pref-

erence for a more obscure use of language and

metaphors that are sustained throughout poems. He

may in fact write a poem that speaks out against

war on one level, but that level may be buried be-

neath layers of surreal imagery and bizarre occur-

rences, leaving the actual meaning lost to the

reader. Tate would make no apology for this and

appears content to have his poems enjoyed, if not

completely understood. He reemphasized his feel-

ings when asked whether he had written what he

would call political poems: “What is obvious is sel-

dom worthy of poetry. I do think poets must be

committed to being certain kinds of ‘outlaws.’ They

can’t ‘fit in,’ as it were. I definitely mean for most

of my poems to ridicule our performance in life: it

is shoddy and not what it should be. I am political

in that I speak for failure, for anger and frustra-

tion.” In “Dear Reader,” this sentiment is at work.

The speaker/poet expresses both anger and frustra-

tion in not being able to please his readers, and that

in turn gives him a sense of failure.

Critical Overview

As critic Stephen Gardner noted about James Tate’s

poetry in his article for the Dictionary of Literary

Dear Reader

Compare

&

Contrast

• 1960:Alfred Hitchcock’s now-classic film Psy-
  choappeared in theaters across the country.
  1999:At Columbine High School in Colorado,
  two students went on a killing spree that left more
  than a dozen dead and many others injured.


• 1969:The Woodstock Music Festival lasted for
  four days in the Catskill Mountains. Illegal
  drugs and sexual freedom were widespread.

1992:Euro Disney opened in France, causing

many French citizens to complain about the un-

welcome spread of American culture.

• 1973:Direct American involvement in Vietnam
  ended, but the bombing of Cambodia continued
  in efforts to retrieve P.O.W.s.
  1993:In Cambodia, the monarchy was reestab-
  lished, and Sihanouk became king.