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Comment 3 of 3, added on December 13th, 2007 at 8:30 AM.
"The Lost Pilot" is about being forced to live with several perspectives
on death. The death of Tate's father is so estranged that it takes on a
form of familiarity where both the survivor and the deceased inhabit that
same grey area of the psyche. It is there that random emotions stream
within Tate's use of imagery. Death and alienation are one the
same--which is why this poem is oftentimes said to be universal. The
survivor feels just as alienated as the living would expect the deceased to
feel. Most of Tate's poetry seems to be playful on the surface with his use
of unusual language and yet...it really is quite grave. I heard him read
once while a student at UNH where I studied with Simic (his close friend).
I will always remember that their writing was what spurred my interest in
poetry to begin with. "The Lost Pilot" is one of the finest American
contemporary poems. Not only is it lyrical, it is deeply felt. It
resonates deeply and lingers long after I have read it.
Marina Gipps
Comment 2 of 3, added on March 30th, 2006 at 8:07 PM.
I first read this poem when I was a teenager in a collection of great
american poetry. My mother was very ill for many years but was an
incredibly charismatic presence in all our lives. Something about the
poem, even in all its differences of circumstance made me think, 'this is
how it will feel to loose her'. And though it was not till many years
later. That is very much how it felt and, often, still feels.
What I still find exceptional about great poems is their ability to
*uniquely* express the universal aspects of human experience.
Giselle from United States
Comment 1 of 3, added on July 31st, 2005 at 7:45 PM.
I love this poem. My father was a engineering chief in a squardon of
Marine Corps fighters in the South Pacifc in WWII. He raised me from
nearly as great a distance as James Tate's dad seems to have raised him.
Richard from United States
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"The Lost Pilot" is about being forced to live with several perspectives
on death. The death of Tate's father is so estranged that it takes on a
form of familiarity where both the survivor and the deceased inhabit that
same grey area of the psyche. It is there that random emotions stream
within Tate's use of imagery. Death and alienation are one the
same--which is why this poem is oftentimes said to be universal. The
survivor feels just as alienated as the living would expect the deceased to
feel. Most of Tate's poetry seems to be playful on the surface with his use
of unusual language and yet...it really is quite grave. I heard him read
once while a student at UNH where I studied with Simic (his close friend).
I will always remember that their writing was what spurred my interest in
poetry to begin with. "The Lost Pilot" is one of the finest American
contemporary poems. Not only is it lyrical, it is deeply felt. It
resonates deeply and lingers long after I have read it.
Marina Gipps