Nathaniel Tarn is an American poet, essayist, anthropologist, and translator. He was born in Paris to a French mother and a British father. He lived in Paris until age 7, then in Belgium until age 11; when World War II began, the family moved to England. He emigrated to the United States in 1970 and taught at several American universities, primarily Rutgers, where he was a professor from 1972 until 1985. He has lived outside Santa Fe, New Mexico since his retirement from Rutgers. Wikipedia
“I speak from ignorance.
Who once learned much, but speaks from ignorance now.”
Poem Last of the Chiefs published in: Nathaniel Tarn (1965) Old savage, young city. p. 18.
Nathaniel Tarn (1999) "Octavio Paz, Anthropology, and the Future of Poetry" published in: The Embattled Lyric: Essays and Conversations in Poetics and Anthropology (2007). p. 118.
“Where there's no stop and go
a thought may wet your face,
a breath arrest your stare.”
Poem Markings published in: Nathaniel Tarn (1968) Where Babylon ends.
