Thomas Matthew McGrath, (November 20, 1916 near
Sheldon, North Dakota – September 20, 1990,
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origi ...
) was a celebrated American
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...
and screenwriter of documentary films.
McGrath grew up on a farm in
Ransom County, North Dakota
Ransom County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,703. Its county seat is Lisbon.
History
The Dakota Territory legislature created Ransom County on January 4, 1873. It was so named due t ...
. He earned a B.A. from the
University of North Dakota
The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of N ...
at Grand Forks. He served in the Aleutian Islands with the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. He was awarded a
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom.
Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...
, at
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
. McGrath also pursued postgraduate studies at
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 n ...
in Baton Rouge. He taught at
Colby College
Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the city where it resides. The donations of Christian philanth ...
in Maine and at
Los Angeles State College, from which he was dismissed in connection with his appearance, as an unfriendly witness, before the
House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1953. Later he taught at
North Dakota State University
North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...
, and
Minnesota State University, Moorhead
Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) is a public university in Moorhead, Minnesota. The school has an enrollment of 7,534 students in 2019 and 266 full-time faculty members. MSUM is a part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities ...
. McGrath was married three times and had one son, Tomasito, to whom much of the poet's later work was dedicated.
McGrath wrote mainly about his own life and
social
Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not.
Etymology
The word "social" derives from ...
concerns. His best-known work, ''Letter to an Imaginary Friend,'' was published in sections between 1957 and 1985 and as a single poem in 1997 by
Copper Canyon Press
Copper Canyon Press is an independent, non-profit small press, founded in 1972 specializing exclusively in the publication of poetry. It is located in Port Townsend, Washington.
Copper Canyon Press publishes new collections of poetry by both ...
.
Works
* ''First Manifesto'', A. Swallow (Baton Rouge, LA), 1940.
* "The Dialectics of Love", Alan Swallow, editor, ''Three Young Poets: Thomas McGrath, William Peterson, James Franklin Lewis'',
Press of James A. Decker (Prairie City, IL), 1942.
* ''To Walk a Crooked Mile'', Swallow Press (New York City), 1947.
* ''Longshot O'Leary's Garland of Practical Poesie'', International Publishers (New York City), 1949.
* ''Witness to the Times!'', privately printed, 1954.
* ''Figures from a Double World'', Alan Swallow (Denver, CO), 1955.
* ''The gates of ivory, the gates of horn'', Mainstream Publishers, 1957 (2nd edition Another Chicago Press, 1987 )
* ''Clouds'', Melmont Publishers, 1959
* ''The Beautiful Things'',
Vanguard Press, 1960
* ''Letter to an Imaginary Friend'', Part I, Alan Swallow, 1962
**published with Part II, Swallow Press (Chicago, IL), 1970
**Parts III and IV,
Copper Canyon Press
Copper Canyon Press is an independent, non-profit small press, founded in 1972 specializing exclusively in the publication of poetry. It is located in Port Townsend, Washington.
Copper Canyon Press publishes new collections of poetry by both ...
, 1985
**compilation of all four parts with selected new material,
Copper Canyon Press
Copper Canyon Press is an independent, non-profit small press, founded in 1972 specializing exclusively in the publication of poetry. It is located in Port Townsend, Washington.
Copper Canyon Press publishes new collections of poetry by both ...
(Port Townsend, WA), 1997.
* ''New and Selected Poems'', Alan Swallow, 1964.
* ''The Movie at the End of the World: Collected Poems'', Swallow Press, 1972.
* ''Poems for Little People,''
loucester c. 1973.
* ''Voyages to the Inland Sea #3: Essays and poems by R.E. Sebenthal, Thomas McGrath,
Robert Dana
Robert Dana (June 2, 1929 – February 6, 2010) was an American poet, who taught writing and English literature at Cornell College and many other schools, revived ''The North American Review'' and served as its editor during the years 1964–196 ...
,'' Center for Contemporary Poetry, 1973.
* ''Voices from beyond the Wall'', Territorial Press (Moorhead, MN), 1974.
* ''A Sound of One Hand: Poems'', Minnesota Writers Publishing House (St. Peter, MN), 1975.
* ''Open Songs: Sixty Short Poems'', Uzzano (Mount Carroll, IL), 1977.
* ''Letters to Tomasito'', graphics by Randall W. Scholes, Holy Cow! Press (St. Paul, MN), 1977.
* ''Trinc: Praises II; A Poem'', Copper Canyon Press, 1979.
* ''Waiting for the Angel'', Uzzano (Menomonie, WI), 1979.
* ''Passages toward the Dark'', Copper Canyon Press, 1982.
* ''Echoes inside the Labyrinth'', Thunder's Mouth Press, 1983.
* ''Longshot O'Leary Counsels Direct Action: Poems'', West End Press, 1983.
* ''Selected Poems, 1938-1988'', Copper Canyon Press, 1988.
* ''This coffin has no handles: a novel'', Thunder's Mouth Press, 1988.
* ''Death Song'', edited by Sam Hamill, Copper Canyon Press, 1991.
Anthologies
*
Ian M. Parsons, editor, ''Poetry for Pleasure'', Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1960.
*
Donald Hall
Donald Andrew Hall Jr. (September 20, 1928 – June 23, 2018) was an American poet, writer, editor and literary critic. He was the author of over 50 books across several genres from children's literature, biography, memoir, essays, and includin ...
, editor, ''New Poets of England and America'', Meridian, 1962.
*
Walter Lowenfels
Walter Lowenfels (May 10, 1897 – July 7, 1976) was an American poet, journalist, and member of the Communist Party USA. He also edited the Pennsylvania Edition of ''The Worker'', a weekend edition of the Communist-sponsored ''Daily Worker'' ...
, editor, ''Poets of Today: A New American Anthology'', International Publishers, 1964.
*
Lucien Stryk
Lucien Stryk (April 7, 1924 - January 24, 2013) was an American poet, translator of Buddhist literature and Zen poetry, and former English professor at Northern Illinois University (NIU).
Biography
Stryk was born in Poland on April 7, 1924, and ...
, editor, ''Heartland: Poets of the Midwest'', Northern Illinois University Press (DeKalb, IL), 1967.
*
W. Lowenfels, editor, ''Where Is Vietnam?'', Doubleday, 1967.
* ''Christmas 1968 : 14 poets'', Black Rabbit Press, 1968.
*
Hayden Carruth
Hayden Carruth (August 3, 1921 – September 29, 2008) was an American poet, literary critic and anthologist. He taught at Syracuse University.
Life
Hayden Carruth was born in Waterbury, Connecticut and grew up in Woodbury, Connecticut. He gra ...
, editor, ''The Voice That Is Great Within Us: American Poetry of the Twentieth Century'', Bantam Classics, 1970.
*
Morris Sweetkind
Morris may refer to:
Places
Australia
*St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia
Canada
* Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry
* Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba
** Morris, Manit ...
, editor, ''Getting into Poetry'', Rostan Holbrook Press, 1972.
* Seymour Yesner, editor, ''25 Minnesota Poets '', Nodin Press, 1974.
* David Kherdian, editor, ''Traveling America'', Macmillan (New York City), 1977.
* ''The Norton Introduction to Literature'', 2nd edition, Norton (New York City), 1977.
*
*
David Ray, editor, ''From A to Z: 200 Contemporary Poets'', Swallow Press, 1981.
* Herman J. Berlandt, editor, ''Peace or perish : a crisis anthology'', Poets for Peace, 1983.
* Morty Sklar, editor, ''Editor's Choice II : Fiction, Poetry & Art from the U.S. Small Press : Selections from Nominations Made by Editors of Independent, Noncommercial Literary Presses and Magazines, of Work Published by them from 1978 to 1983'', Spirit That Moves Us Press, 1987.
*
Robert Bly, editor, ''The Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart : Poems for Men '', HarperCollins, 1992.
*
Alan Kaufman, editor, ''The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry '', Thunder's Mouth Press, 1999.
* Estelle Gershgoren Novak, editor, ''Poets of the Non-existent City : Los Angeles in the McCarthy Era '', University of New Mexico Press, 2002.
*
Cary Nelson
Cary Nelson (1946), is an American professor emeritus of English and Jubilee Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was president of the American Association of University Professors between 2 ...
, editor, "The Oxford Handbook of Modern and Contemporary American Poetry", Oxford University Press, 2012.
Reviews
Best of all, Letter to an Imaginary Friend licks its fingers and burps at the table. Polite it is not--and the better for it when McGrath turns from his populist vitriol to what may be his most abiding talent: that of bestowing praise--grace, even--on the common, the unruly, the inconsolable, those McGrath chose to side and sing with and for whom "the world is too much but not enough with us.''Rain Taxi'', Josie Rawson Vol. 2 No. 4, Winter 1997/1998 (#8)
References
Sources
*''The Revolutionary Poet in the United States: the Poetry of Thomas McGrath'', Stern, Frederick C. (Editor), U of Missouri, Columbia, 1988
* (reprint University of Illinois Press, 1992, )
External links
*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060628215301/http://www2.tcu.edu/depts/prs/amwest/pdf/wl0806.pdf Selected Bibliographybr>
Documentary film of the poet, called ''The Movie at the End of the World''"thomas mcgrath , death song poems", ''Poetry Dispatch'', June 24 2008Finding aid to Beat poets and poetry collection at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.*Thomas McGrath interviewed by Robb Mitchell, Northern Lights Minnesota Author Interview TV Series #55 (1988):
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGrath, Thomas
1916 births
Members of the Communist Party USA
University of North Dakota alumni
American Rhodes Scholars
Louisiana State University alumni
Colby College faculty
California State University, Los Angeles faculty
Minnesota State University Moorhead faculty
North Dakota State University faculty
People from Ransom County, North Dakota
Poets from North Dakota
1990 deaths
20th-century American poets
American Book Award winners