Introduction


Ezra Pound
Ezra Pound is first remembered as a great modernist poet...but for some historians, he is also remembered as a traitor. Pound was living in Italy at the time of World War II and publicly wrote and spoke in favor of the Axis. He highly disagreed with the involvement of the United States, despite the fact that he was an American. Pound was indicted for treason in 1943, and when the war was over, he was brought back to the United States and found incompetent to stand trial. Instead, he spent twelve years in a mental institution. His writings, however, from that time appear to be from a sane person’s perspective. Even though Pound is a somewhat controversial figure in American history, his writing (particularly the epic Cantos) is considered a major contribution to American literature. 

Essential Facts

  1. Pound was a great admirer of William Butler Yeats, believing him to be the greatest living poet at the time. They even lived together for a short time during World War I, and Pound briefly served as Yeats’ secretary.
  2. Pound was married to Dorothy Shakespear, who was the daughter of Olivia Shakespear, a former lover of W. B. Yeats. A few years after marrying Shakespear, Pound began a romantic relationship with violinist Olga Rudge. The three carried on a romantic relationship until Pound’s death nearly fifty years later.
  3. Pound was also a noted translator of Asian literature. He revived many Confucian works and brought Japanese poetry and drama into the forefront in America and Europe
  4. Music became a large part of Pound’s life in the 1920s. He is mainly responsible for bringing Vivaldi’s music back into popularity.
  5. Pound was friends with Ernest Hemingway, who tried to teach Pound to box. Hemingway said of the experience, “I was never able to teach him to throw a left hook.”