Thomas Matthew McGrath—poet, English teacher and World War II veteran—wrote poetry that never received the recognition it deserved. In literary circles, McGrath is known as one of the greatest poets of contemporary poetry; his works have been compared to that of Robert Frost. Yet outside of his literary peers, few Americans recognize McGrath’s name.
     Thomas M. McGrath was born and raised on the prairies of North Dakota, near the town of Sheldon. He was born to James and Catherine (Shea) McGrath. In 1916, he was the eldest son of this second-generation farm family. McGrath, whose parents were poor Irish farmers trying to survive through the 1930s depression, still managed to save enough money for McGrath to attend college. After a short stay at Minnesota State University Moorhead (as it is now known), he graduated from the University of North Dakota in 1939. McGrath received a Rhodes Scholarship but did not use it immediately because of his service in World War II. McGrath attended Louisiana State University and obtained a master’s degree.
     From there, McGrath held numerous jobs, varying from teaching, legal research, and serving in World War II, where he was stationed on Amchitka Island. After serving in the U.S. armed forces, McGrath used his Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford College in England from 1947-1948.
     McGrath returned to the United States in 1951 and began teaching at Los Angeles State University the same year. In 1954, after writing many pieces of work about communism, McGrath was summoned to appear before the U.S. House Committee on Un-American Activities. McGrath refused to appear as a witness before HUAC, claiming that his first responsibility was to his students. McGrath stated that if he accommodated HUAC, he would ruin his value as a teacher. Also, as a professor, he said he had a responsibility to the profession itself. Finally, as a poet, he refused to cooperate on aesthetic grounds.
     While working in Hollywood prior to the HUAC incident, McGrath found success in writing film and television scripts. The statements which McGrath made to HUAC resulted in his being blacklisted in Hollywood; this led to his removal from the faculty at LASU in 1954. Being on the blacklist made it impossible for McGrath to find work, even after successfully writing film and television scripts. Therefore, McGrath left Hollywood and held various job titles. From 1954 to 1960, McGrath worked as a teacher at a private school and worked for a company that carved wooden animals.
     McGrath’s poetry works ranged from political view points, to poems about his son Tomasito. In the poem “For Tomasito,” McGrath talks of his son, and how he can survive the cold of this region:

     In the court case which followed, McGrath pleaded self-defense. Many of McGrath’s friends turned up in support. Mark Vinz, a MSUM professor and close friend, testified for McGrath, and Dille wrote a letter to the judge on McGrath’s behalf. McGrath was found innocent, but was very bothered by the episode.
     “Tom was very sympathetic towards Native-Americans prior to this, and this really hurt him,” said Dille. McGrath showed much sympathy for the Native-American people in many of his poems. This can be seen in “Letter to an Imaginary Friend- Part Two, V.I.”:

Wounded Knee       The Last Fight -- must have been at that time.       And now       All finished.       South Dakota has stolen the holy       Bones of Sitting Bull to make a tourist attraction

McGrath, whose poems have languished, possibly because of his communistic background, are not all politically influenced. His epic-like work, “Letter to an Imaginary Friend,” which he began writing after he was blacklisted, took over three decades to complete. This contained everything from poems about his son and the North Dakota landscape, to a not-so-pleasant description of Los Angeles. This is McGrath’s most vividly recognized piece today.
     McGrath published over 20 books, most of them on poetry. McGrath’s works gained him many honors throughout his life. McGrath received two awards in poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts; he was a Guggenheim Fellow and was twice a Bush Fellow. The University of North Dakota awarded him a Doctorate of Letters, and he received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Society of Western Literature.
     When it comes to describing Thomas McGrath, he was more than a man who wrote poetry on “just politics.” He wrote poetry on numerous different subjects. “He was very well read,” said Vinz. “He was a man who was interested in a lot of things, and that’s what got him in trouble.”