搜索
EzraPound(1885-1972)Americanpoet,critic,editor,andtranslator,consideredoneoftheforemostAmericanliteraryfiguresofthe20thcentury.PoundwasachiefarchitectofEnglishandAmericanliterarymodernism,amovementcharacterizedbyexperimentationinliteraryformandcontent,explorationoftheliterarytraditionsofnon-Westernandancientcultures,andrejectionofthetraditionsoftheimmediatepast.Asapoet,Poundexperimentedwithvariousverseforms,fromshortpoemsfocusingonconcreteimagestohisepicmasterpiece,theCantos,awiderangingseriesofpoemscombiningancientandmodernhistorywithPound’spersonalreflectionsandexperiences.Asacriticandeditor,Pounddiscoveredandencouragedmanyexperimentalauthors,includingIrishwriterJamesJoyce,EnglishpoetT.S.EliotandAmericanwritersFrostandHemingway.Asanessayist,hewrotemanifestosestablishinginfluentialprinciplesofstyleandtheme.EarlyLifeEzraPoundwasborninHailey,Idaho.Whenhewasstillaninfant,hisfamilymovedtoGermantown,Pennsylvania.Byage15,Poundhaddecidedtobecomeapoet,resolvingthatbytheageof30he“wouldknowmoreaboutpoetrythananymanliving.”In1901heenteredtheUniversityofPennsylvania,wherehebefriendedthefuturepoetsWilliamCarlosWilliamsandHildaDoolittle.AftertwoyearshetransferredtoHamiltonCollegeinNewYorkState,andhegraduatedin1905.HereturnedtotheUniversityofPennsylvaniaforgraduatestudiesinRomancelanguages,earninghisM.A.degree.PoundthentaughtlanguagesforabrieftimeatWabashCollegeinIndiana.DecidingthattherewasnoplaceintheUnitedStatesforpoets,PoundmovedtoEurope,livingfirstinVenice,Italy.Therehepublishedhisfirstvolumeofpoetry,ALumeSpento(1908;).ConvincedthatLondonwas“theplaceforpoetry,”herelocatedthereandworkedasthesecretaryofIrishpoetWilliamButlerYeats.DuringhistimeinLondon,Poundsupportedhimselfbywritingandteaching.HealsoservedastheLondonrepresentativefortwoAmericanliteraryjournals,theChicago-basedPoetrymagazineandtheNewYorkCity-basedTheLittleReview.Onthelookoutforwriterswhoseemeddedicatedtoreinvigoratingliteratureoftheperiod—orinhiswords,“makingitnew”—heregularlysentsomeoftheera’sfinestpoemstobepublishedinPoetry,notablyT.S.Eliot’s“TheLoveSongofJ.AlfredPrufrock”(1915).PoundalsoeditedearlydraftsofEliot’smasterpieceTheWasteLand(1922).DevelopmentasapoetInhisownpoetryandessays,Poundestablishedprinciplesthatmanymodernistwriterswouldfollow.Detestingwhathecalled“emotionalslither,”hedemandeda“harderandsaner”poetrythatwas“nearerthebone”thantraditionalverse,with“fewerpaintedadjectivesimpedingtheshockofit.”Hewarnedpoets,“Goinfearofabstraction.”Whatwasneededwas“directtreatmentofthe‘thing,’whethersubjectiveorobjective,”andrhythmthatwas“insequenceofthemusicalphrase,notinthesequenceofametronome.”Inabout1909Poundbecamethefounderand,foratime,theleaderoftheschoolofpoetrycalledimagism,featuringsuccinctverse“whichpresentsanintellectualandemotional‘complex’inaninstantoftime.”Pound’sownpoetryofthisperiodappearedinsuchvolumesasPersonae(1910),Cathay(1915),andLustra(1916).AmericanpoetAmyLowelleventuallyassumedleadershipoftheimagistmovement,andPoundmovedontothevorticismmovement.AlongwithBritishartistandwriterWyndhamLewis,Poundattemptedtoinvestdynamicenergyinthepoeticimage,whichhesaidwasnotanideabut“aradiantnodeorcluster…aVORTEX,fromwhich,andthroughwhich,andintowhich,ideasareconstantlyflowing.”Poundconsideredtherestorationofsophisticationandhistoricalrichnesstoliteratureasanecessaryandintegralpartofhiscommitmenttoinnovation.AsaresulthehadamixedviewofAmericanpoetWaltWhitman,whomheadmiredforhisexperimentalstylebutdislikedforwhatheconsideredWhitman’slackofinterestinculturalmattersbeyondAmerica,andforhisveryinfatuationwithanAmericathathaddisappointedPound.Insuchpoemsas“APact”(1916),PoundpaidgrudgingrespecttoWhitman,callinghima“pig-headedfather”butadding,“Itwasyouthatbrokethenewwood,Nowitistimeforthecarving.”Partofthissymbolic“carving”ofanewliterarytraditionwastheuseofpoeticdevicesfromforeignlanguages.Tothisend,PoundextensivelytranslatedpoetryfromtheJapaneseandChineseAround1914,PoundconceivedofapoetrysequencethatwouldpossessthesweepofWhitman’smajorvolumeofpoetry,LeavesofGrass(1855),butwouldusemodernistdevices.TheresultwastheCantos.Writtenfrom1915to1970,theCantoseventuallytotaled116poems.WritteninwhatPoundcalledtheideo-grammaticmethod,featuringunexpectedjuxtapositionsandassociations,thevariousCantoscombinedreminiscence,meditation,andallusionstomanycultures,includingRenaissanceItaly,dynasticChina,and18th-centuryAmerica.Oftendifficulttounderstand,theCantosareendlesslydebatedbyscholarsandarewidelyregardedasthe20thcentury’sclosestapproximationtoamodernpoeticepic.PoliticalalienationsThedevastationcausedbyWorldWarI(1914-1918)deepenedPound’sdisillusionwiththeWest,whichhelabeled“abotchedcivilization.”HisbitternesswasvisibleinhissatiricalvolumeHughSelwynMauberly:LifeandContacts(1920),whichdescribesthe“tawdrycheapness”anddeteriorationofamodernAmericaPoundcalled“ahalf-savagecountry.”Believingthatcapitalismmarginalizedorexcludedpoets,PoundsoughtcountriesthathefeltweremorehospitableandleftEnglandin1920.HemovedfirsttoFranceandthentoItaly,wherein1925hesettledinthevillageofRappallo.Pounds