Ezra Pound
Ezra Weston Loomis Pound was born on the 30th of October 1885 in a two-story clapboard house in Hailey, Idaho Territory. His father Homer worked as registrar of the United States General Land Office since 1883. The family moved to New York when Ezra was 18 months old and later settled in Wyncote, Pennsylvania. He attended Cheltenham Military Academy from 1897 until 1900, wearing an American Civil War-style uniform while learning to drill and shoot. A three-month tour with his mother and Aunt Frank took him through England, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, and Morocco in 1898. He enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania in 1901 but struggled academically, earning mostly poor grades despite achieving a B in English composition. He transferred to Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, where he studied the Provençal dialect of Occitan and read Dante Alighieri alongside Anglo-Saxon poetry like Beowulf. After graduating with a PhB in 1905, he returned to Penn to pursue a PhD thesis on jesters in Lope de Vega's plays. A Harrison fellowship covered his tuition and provided a $500 grant for another European trip. In May 1906, he stood outside a palace during an attempted assassination of King Alfonso XIII in Madrid before fleeing the city. He left without finishing his doctorate after falling out with department head Felix Schelling in 1907. Teaching positions at Wabash College ended quickly when landladies found a woman in his room, leading to his dismissal in January 1908.
Pound arrived in Gibraltar on the 23rd of March 1908 working as a guide for an American family while earning US$15 daily. By April he lived over a bakery near Venice's San Vio bridge before moving to London in August 1908 carrying 60 copies of his self-published collection A Lume Spento. The book contained 44 poems printed in July 1908 and dedicated to Philadelphia artist William Brooke Smith who had died of tuberculosis. He stayed initially at 8 Duchess Street near the British Museum Reading Room before relocating to Islington and then back to Central London at 48 Langham Street. At the Vienna Café on Oxford Street he met painter Wyndham Lewis in 1910. His appearance included trousers made of green billiard cloth, a pink coat, blue shirt, hand-painted tie, immense sombrero, flaming beard cut to a point, and a single large blue earring. In April 1909 Elkin Mathews published Personae containing half the poems from A Lume Spento plus 27 new works. Edward Thomas described it as full of human passion and natural magic while Rupert Brooke complained about unmetrical sprawling lengths yet acknowledged Pound's great talents. H.D. arrived in London in May 1911 accompanied by Frances Gregg and her mother. They lived together at Church Walk off Kensington High Street with Richard Aldington at No. 8 and Doolittle at No. 6. At the British Museum Print Room on the 9th of February 1909, Pound examined Chinese and Japanese art alongside Dorothy Shakespear. In August 1912 Harriet Monroe hired him as foreign correspondent for Poetry magazine which featured two of his own poems that October. Stephen Swift and Co. published Ripostes of Ezra Pound in August 1912 containing 25 poems including a translation of The Seafarer demonstrating minimalist language shifts. He edited one of H.D.'s poems in the British Museum tearoom writing H.D. Imagiste underneath marking what he later called the founding of Imagisme.
The Pounds settled in Paris around April 1921 before moving to an inexpensive ground-floor apartment at 70 bis in December. Ernest Hemingway moved to Paris in December 1921 carrying letters from Sherwood Anderson. The Hemingways visited the Pounds for tea in February 1922 when Hemingway was aged 22. Although Pound was 14 years older, they became friends with Hemingway assuming pupil status while asking Pound to edit his short stories. T.S. Eliot sent Pound the manuscript of The Waste Land in 1922. Pound edited it with comments like make up yr. mind reducing it by about half. Eliot dedicated the work to Pound calling him il miglior fabbro or better craftsman from Canto 26 of Dante's Purgatorio. In summer 1922 Pound met 26-year-old American violinist Olga Rudge at a salon hosted by Natalie Barney at her house on Rue Jacob near Boulevard Saint-Germain. They moved in different social circles: Rudge daughter of wealthy steel family lived on Right Bank socializing with aristocrats while Pound's friends were mostly impoverished writers on Left Bank. When Dorothy complained about winters and Ezra's health suffered after an incident where a Surrealist guest tried stabbing him, they left France in October 1924 for Rapallo Italy. Olga followed pregnant giving birth to daughter Maria in July 1925 hospital in Brixen. The baby went to live with German-speaking peasant woman in Gais raising her for 200 lire monthly. Omar Pound born the 10th of September 1926 at Neuilly town hall became boarder at Charterhouse later living in Felpham Sussex. From 1930 Olga rented top floor Sant'Ambrogio house near Pounds in Rapallo. Her father helped buy Venice house 1928 at Calle Querini 252. The Cantos began as Three Cantos published June July August 1917 in Poetry magazine but abandoned most work starting again 1922 becoming Canto I new work. It stretched 800 pages from Canto I to Canto CXVI spanning c.1917-1962.
During World War II Pound recorded hundreds paid radio propaganda broadcasts fascist Italian government later German puppet state Salò Republic attacking United States government Franklin D Roosevelt Britain international finance arms industry Jews abettors prolongers war. Praised eugenics Holocaust Italy urging American GIs throw down rifles surrender. In 1945 captured Italian Resistance handed U.S. Army Counterintelligence Corps pending extradition prosecution based treason indictment. Spent months U.S. military detention camp near Pisa including three weeks outdoor steel cage Ruled mentally unfit stand trial incarcerated over 12 years St Elizabeths Hospital Washington DC. While U.S. military custody Italy continued work The Cantos published New Directions 1948 Pisan Cantos awarded Bollingen Prize Poetry 1949 American Library Congress leading enormous controversy After campaign fellow writers released St Elizabeths 1958 returned Italy posing press giving Fascist salute calling United States insane asylum remained until death 1972. His economic political views ensured life literary legacy remain highly controversial Tytell 1987 254 Julius 1995 183. Wrote more than 1000 letters year throughout 1930s Tytell 1987 254 Julius 1995 183. From 1932 wrote 180 articles New English Weekly social credit journal founded A.R. Orage plus 60 Il Mare Rapallo newspaper Tytell 1987 227.
Pound spent months in U.S. military detention camp near Pisa including three weeks outdoor steel cage before being ruled mentally unfit to stand trial. He was incarcerated for over 12 years at St Elizabeths Hospital in Washington DC. While in U.S. military custody in Italy he continued work on The Cantos which new work published by New Directions in 1948 as The Pisan Cantos. For this Pound awarded Bollingen Prize for Poetry in 1949 by American Library of Congress leading enormous controversy. After campaign fellow writers released from St Elizabeths 1958 returning Italy where posed press giving Fascist salute calling United States insane asylum. Remained Italy until death 1972. His economic political views ensured life literary legacy remain highly controversial. During incarceration continued writing The Cantos developing final sections despite confinement conditions. The prison environment influenced his poetic output significantly shaping themes around isolation and historical reflection within the text itself. Critics debated whether his mental state affected quality or authenticity artistic expression during period. Many contemporaries argued against releasing him while others campaigned vigorously for freedom citing humanitarian concerns regarding elderly poet confined long term without proper treatment options available then.
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Common questions
When and where was Ezra Weston Loomis Pound born?
Ezra Weston Loomis Pound was born on the 30th of October 1885 in a two-story clapboard house in Hailey, Idaho Territory. His father Homer worked as registrar of the United States General Land Office since 1883.
What were the key events during Ezra Pound's early education and European travels?
He attended Cheltenham Military Academy from 1897 until 1900 before enrolling at the University of Pennsylvania in 1901. He transferred to Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, graduated with a PhB in 1905, and returned to Penn to pursue a PhD thesis on jesters in Lope de Vega's plays.
How did Ezra Pound establish himself in London and what works did he publish there?
Pound arrived in Gibraltar on the 23rd of March 1908 working as a guide for an American family while earning US$15 daily. By April he lived over a bakery near Venice's San Vio bridge before moving to London in August 1908 carrying 60 copies of his self-published collection A Lume Spento which contained 44 poems printed in July 1908.
When and how did Ezra Pound meet Olga Rudge and what was their relationship like?
In summer 1922 Pound met 26-year-old American violinist Olga Rudge at a salon hosted by Natalie Barney at her house on Rue Jacob near Boulevard Saint-Germain. They moved in different social circles: Rudge daughter of wealthy steel family lived on Right Bank socializing with aristocrats while Pound's friends were mostly impoverished writers on Left Bank.
What economic theories did Ezra Pound promote during his meetings with Benito Mussolini?
He discussed 18-point draft economic theories recording meeting Canto XLI writing C.H. Douglas never met anyone seemed get ideas quickly boss. He believed World War I caused finance capitalism called usury Jews blamed solution lay C.H. Douglas idea social credit Preda 2005a 87.
Why was Ezra Pound incarcerated and when was he released from St Elizabeths Hospital?
During World War II Pound recorded hundreds paid radio propaganda broadcasts fascist Italian government later German puppet state Salò Republic attacking United States government Franklin D Roosevelt Britain international finance arms industry Jews abettors prolongers war. After campaign fellow writers released from St Elizabeths 1958 returning Italy where posed press giving Fascist salute calling United States insane asylum remained until death 1972.