In a Dark Time … The Eye Begins to See

When first introduced to T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound many years ago in college, I could find little that I liked in Eliot’s works, though I bought The Complete Poems and Plays, and nothing in Pound’s poems to even justify buying even a single one of his works. My attitude towards Pound was not improved any [...]

Although I admit I never connected Pound with Whitman until I re-read his poetry, Pound does adapt Whitman’s style in some interesting ways. As many critics have pointed out Pound was quite ambivalent about Whitman, as can be seen in: PACT I make a pact with you, Walt Whitman- I have detested you long enough. I come to [...]

When I first considered discussing Pound’s Chinese translations I naturally thought I would discuss his translation of Li T’ai Po’s "The River-Merchant’s Wife: A Letter" since it might well be my favorite Pound poem. After a few minutes browsing the net, however, I decided I would leave well-enough alone, and simply point to Modern [...]

While looking up a poem for Shelley the other day in Brooks and Warren’s Understanding Poetry, I coincidentally ran into an Ezra Pound poem that I had just finished reading. The comments in the book reminded me of what is paradoxically one of Pound’s greatest strengths and greatest weaknesses. In short, the [...]