Ezra Pound - Poems by Μαρία Μεζερέ

Ezra Pound POEMS

Ezra Pound POEMS Hermanas Publishing Poetry Foundation Antreas Ioannou Demitris Kattashis Maria Mezere

contents i. Biography Poems ii. Phasellus Ille iii. A Girl iv. Ancient Music v. Francesca vi. THE NEO-COMMUNE vii. An Immorality viii. Ancora ix. Wind

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Biography

Biography Poet Ezra Pound was born on October 30, 1885, in Hailey, Idaho. He studied literature and languages in college and in 1908 left for Europe, where he published several successful books of poetry. Pound advanced a "modern" movement in English and American literature. His pro-Fascist broadcasts in Italy during World War II led to his arrest and confinement until 1958. One of the 20th century's most influential voices in American and English literature, Ezra Pound was born in the small mining town of Hailey, Idaho, on October 30, 1885. The only child of Homer Loomis Pound, a Federal Land Office official, and his wife, Isabel, Ezra spent the bulk of his childhood just outside Philadelphia, where his father had moved the family after accepting a job with the U.S. Mint. His childhood seems to have been a happy one. He eventually attended Cheltenham Military Academy, staying there two years before leaving to finish his high school education at a local public school. In 1901, Pound enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania, but left after two years and transferred to Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, where he earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy. By this time, Pound knew full well that he wanted to be a poet. At the age of 15, he had told his parents as much. Though his chosen vocation certainly wasn't something he had inherited directly from his more conventional mother and father, Homer and Isabel were supportive of their son's choice. In 1907, after finishing college, Pound accepted a teaching job at Indiana's Wabash College. But the fit between the artistic, somewhat bohemian poet and the formal institution was less than perfect, and Pound soon left. His next move proved to be more daring. In 1908, with just $80 in his pocket, he set sail for Europe, and landed in Venice brimming with confidence that he would soon make a name for himself in the world of poetry. With his own money, Pound paid for the publication of his first book of poems, "A Lume Spento." Despite the fact that the work did not create the kind of fireworks he had hoped for, it did open some important doors for him. In late 1908, Pound traveled to London, where he befriended the influential writer and editor Ford Madox Ford, as well as William Butler Yeats. His friendship with Yeats in particular was a close one, and Pound eventually took a job as the writer's secretary, and later served as best man at his wedding.

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Biography In 1909, Pound found the kind of success as a writer that he had wanted. Over the next year, he produced three books, "Personae," "Exultations" and "The Spirit of Romance," the last one based on the lectures he had given in London. All three books were warmly received. Wrote one reviewer: Pound "is that rare thing among modern poets, a scholar." In addition, Pound wrote numerous reviews and critiques for a variety of publications, such as New Age, the Egoist, and Poetry. As his friend T.S. Eliot would later note, "During a crucial decade in the history of modern literature, approximately 1912â&#x20AC;&#x201C;1922, Pound was the most influential and in some ways the best critic in England or America." In 1912, Pound helped create a movement that he and others called "Imagism," which signaled a new literary direction for the poet. At the core of Imagism, was a push to set a more direct course with language, shedding the sentiment that had so wholly shaped Victorian and Romantic poetry. Precision and economy were highly valued by Pound and the other proponents of the movement, which included F.S. Flint, William Carlos Williams, Amy Lowell, Richard Aldington, and Hilda Doolittle. With its focus on the "thing" as the "thing," Imagism reflected the changes happening in other art forms, most notably painting and the Cubists. Pound's maxims included, "Do not retell in mediocre verse what has already been done in good prose" and "Use no superfluous word, no adjective which does not reveal something." But Pound's connection to Imagism was short-lived. After just a few years, he stepped aside, frustrated when he couldn't secure total control of the movement from Lowell and the others. Pound's influence extended in other directions. He had an incredible eye for talent and tirelessly promoted writers whose works he felt demanded attention. He introduced the world to up-and-coming poets like Robert Frost and D.H. Lawrence, and was T.S. Eliot's editor. In fact, it was Pound who edited Eliot's "The Waste Land," which many consider to be one of the greatest poems produced during the modernist era. Over the years, Pound and Eliot would become great friends. Early in his career, when Eliot abandoned his graduate studies in philosophy at Oxford, it was Pound who wrote the young poet's parents to break the news to them. Ezra Pound Poems 5

Biography Pound's lineup of friends also included the Irish novelist James Joyce, whom he helped introduce to publishers and find landing spots in magazines for several of the stories in "The Dubliners" and "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man." During Joyce's leanest years, Pound helped him with money and even, it is said, helped secure for him an old pair of shoes to wear. Pound's own work continued to flourish as well. The years immediately following World War I saw the production of two of his most admired works, "Homage to Sextus Propertius" (1919) and the 18-part "Hugh Selwyn Mauberley" (1921), the latter of which tackled a wide range of subjects, from the artist and society to the horrors of mass production and World War I. In late 1920, after 12 years in London, Pound left England for a new start in Paris. But his tolerance for French life, it seems, was limited. In 1924, tired of the Parisian scene, Pound moved again, this time settling in the Italian city of Rapallo, where he would remain for the next two decades. It was here that Pound's life changed significantly. In 1925, he had a daughter, Maria, with American violinist Olga Rudge, and the following year he had a son, Omar, with his wife, Dorothy. Professionally, Pound had turned his full attention to "The Cantos," an ambitious longform poem he had begun in 1915. A work he self described as his "poem including history," "The Cantos" revealed Pound's interest in economics and in the world's changing financial landscape in the wake of World War I. The first section of the poem was published in 1925, with later editions appearing later ("Eleven New Cantos," 1934; "The Fifth Decade of Cantos," 1937; "Cantos LII-LXXI," 1940).

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POEMS

Ille PhasellusPhasellus Ille his papier-mâché, 1 his papier-mâché, which1 you see, my friends,which you see, my friends, Saith 'twas the worthiest of editors. Saith 'twas the worthiest of editors. Its mind was made up in 'the seventies', Its mind was made up in 'the seventies', Nor hath ever since changed that concoction. Nor hath it ever since changed that itconcoction. worksoftothought represent that school of thought It works to represent thatItschool Which brought the hair-cloth chair to such Which brought the hair-cloth chair to such perfection, perfection, will the horrid Nor will the horrid threatsNor of Bernard Shaw threats of Bernard Shaw Shake the stagnant pool of its convictions; Shake up the stagnant pool of itsupconvictions; theworld deathless voice of all the world Nay, should the deathless Nay, voiceshould of all the Speak once again for its sole stimulation, Speak once again for its sole stimulation, Twould not to move it one jot from left to right. Twould not move it one jot from left right. Come barefoot from the Cyclades, Come Beauty barefoot from the Beauty Cyclades, ﬁnd a model for St. Anthony She'd ﬁnd a model for St. She'd Anthony In this sure decorum and behaviour. In this thing's sure decorum and thing's behaviour.

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A Girl A Girl The tree has entered my hands, The tree has entered my hands, sap has ascended my arms, The sap has ascended my The arms, tree- has grown in my breast The tree has grown in myThe breast Downward, Downward, The branches grow out ofThe me,branches like arms.grow out of me, like arms. Tree you are, Tree you are, Moss you are, Moss you are, arethem. violets with wind above them. You are violets with wind You above A child - so high - you are,A child - so high - you are, all this is folly to the world. And all this is folly to the And world.

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Ancient Music W

inter is icummen in, Lhude sing Goddamm. Raineth drop and staineth slop, And how the wind doth ramm! Sing: Goddamm. Skiddeth bus and sloppeth us, An ague hath my ham. Freezeth river, turneth liver, Damn you, sing: Goddamm. Goddamm, Goddamm, ‘tis why I am, Goddamm, So ’gainst the winter’s balm. Sing goddamm, damm, sing Goddamm. Sing goddamm, sing goddamm, DAMM.

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Francesca Y

ou came in out of the night And there were ﬂowers in your

hand, Now you will come out of a confusion of people, Out of a turmoil of speech about you, I who have seen you amid the primal things Was angry when they spoke your name In ordinary places. I would that the cool waves might ﬂow over my mind, And that the world should dry as a dead leaf, Or as a dandelion see-pod and be swept away, So that I might ﬁnd you again, Alone.

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THE NEO-COMMUNE THE NEO-COM Manhood of England , Manhood of England , Dougth of the shires, Dougth of the shires, Want Russia to save ‘em, Want Russia to save ‘em, Lenin to save ’em , TrotskyLenin to save to ‘em save ’em , Trotsky to save ‘em (And valets to shave ’em) (And valets to shave ’em) The youth of the shires! The youth of the shires! Down there is Cambridge Down there is Cambridge Between auction and plainBetween bridge, auction and plain bridge, Romance, revolution 1918!Romance, revolution 1918! I says!’ave you seen ‘em? I says!’ave you seen ‘em? The ﬂower of Cambridge, The ﬂower of Cambridge, The youth of the Shires? The youth of the Shires?

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An Immorality An Immorality Sing we for love and idleness, Sing we for love and idleness, Naught else is worth the having. Naught else is worth the having. Though i have been in many a land,i have been in many a land, Though There is naught else in living. There is naught else in living. And i would rather have my sweet, And i would rather have my sweet, Though rose-leaves die of Though grieving,rose-leaves die of grieving, Than do high deed in Hungary Than do high deed in Hungary To pass all menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s believing.To pass all menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s believing.

Ezra Pound Poems

Ancora Ancora God! They say you are risqué! GOOD God! They say youGOOD are risqué! O canzonetti, O canzonetti, who We who went out into theWe four A. went M. of out the into the four A. M. of the world, world, Composing our albas; Composing our albas; whothe shook oﬀ our dew with the rabbits; We who shook oﬀ our dewWewith rabbits; We whoa-binding have seenher even Artemis a-binding her We who have seen even Artemis sandals, sandals, Have ever heard Have we ever heard the like! O we mountains of the like! O mountains of Hellas! Hellas! Gather about me, O Muses! Gather about me, O Muses! Whenbrink we sat the granite brink in Helicon When we sat upon the granite in upon Helicon Clothed in the tattered sunlight, Clothed in the tattered sunlight, O Muses with delicate shins, O Muses with delicate shins, O Muses with delectable knee-joints, O Muses with delectable knee-joints, When we splashed When we splashed and were splashed with and were splashed with The lucid Castalian spray,The lucid Castalian spray, Had we ever such an epithet Had we ever such an epithet Cast upon us! Cast upon us!

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Wind Wind Scarce Scarce and thin, scarce and thin and thin, scarce and thin The government's excuse,The government's excuse, Never at all will they do Never at all will they do Aught of the slightest use.Aught of the slightest use. Over the dying half-wits blow, Over the dying half-wits blow, Overthetheslow empty-headed, and the slow Over the empty-headed, and Marchers, not getting forwarder, Marchers, not getting forwarder, Ramsay While Ramsay MacDonaldWhile sleeps, sleeps.MacDonald sleeps, sleeps. Fester and rot, fester and Fester rot, and rot, fester and rot, And angle and tergiversateAnd angle and tergiversate One among all things you will not One thing among all things youthing will not Do,too that is: think, before it's too late. Do, that is: think, before it's late. Election Election will not come very soon, will not come very soon, Andspoon, those born with a silver spoon, And those born with a silver Will keep it a little longer,Will keep it a little longer, mind Until the mind of the old Until nationthe gets a of the old nation gets a little stronger. little stronger.

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EzraPOEMS Pound Canto LXV - With Usura “With usura hath no man a house of good stone each block cut smooth and well fitting that delight might cover their face, with usura hath no man a painted paradise on his church wall harpes et luthes or where virgin receiveth message and halo projects from incision, with usura seeth no man Gonzaga his heirs and his concubines no picture is made to endure nor to live with but it is made to sell and sell quickly with usura, sin against nature, is thy bread ever more of stale rags is thy bread dry as paper, with no mountain wheat, no strong flour with usura the line grows thick with usura is no clear demarcation and no man can find site for his dwelling Stone cutter is kept from his stone weaver is kept from his loom...”

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