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history Mark but if his views create a modern political party Pound is a liability. On Dante of course I see your points but that was in a century well in the past. Ezra Pound is much closer in time & the liking of his poetry helped 20th century poets enter his circle. I feel that helped Ezra become more accepted leaving the fascist issue be put off the agenda into our own time. We often see a rejection of Philip Larkin going on his expressed views in his letters and work and notes published since 1985. Yet despite this his popular appeal has never waned nor sales of his books. So maybe we misread the real public mood from the media presentation of these islands? And by media I mean all hues in print as well as online outlets not just overground media. But if a political party emerged invoking Philip Larkin it would then provoke debate just as Casa Pound in Italy. So far I have not seen the full polls but a Five Star/League coalition is possible or a hung parliament. On Ezra Pound I do feel we need to face up to his extreme views and his activities during WW2. By forgive I did mention Louis Zukofsky who of course was a man from a faith Ezra detested with venom. Going on accounts of Louis’ life he may well have lost his faith in a creator but that is not the issue. Ginsberg also entered the Pound circle but his poetic practice was not similar as Zukofsky’s. My own view on Ezra Pound is that we must totally reject his politics and that means a complete rejection. For away too long he has been tolerated and celebrated by writers and academics. To celebrate The Cantos in 2018 is to celebrate a serious active fascist who never had any real remorse. We are very quick to rush to judgement on other writers who are not democrats or who venerate dictators. The same rule of thumb should apply to Ezra Pound. sc Sent from AOL Mobile Mail Get the new AOL app: mail.mobile.aol.com On Sunday, 4 March 2018, Mark Weiss <[log in to unmask]> wrote: A couple of things. First, I don't know anyone who has "forgiven" Pound, but I o know a lot of poets who nonetheless learn from him (which, nota bene, is not the same as revering). But let's for the moment consider Dante. He thought about writing the Commedia in Provencal, the language of the avant garde back then, but changed his mind among other things because Provencal speakers were being slaughtered and their culture bombed back to the stone age. So instead he wrote his hymn to the papal catholicism that experienced no remorse about the slaughter of among others poets and their supporters, not to mention hundreds of thousands with no names, and along the way he imagined horrible punishment for those who disagreed with his politics. Yet we read him and never ask if he retracted his views. -----Original Message----- From: Sean Carey <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Mar 4, 2018 3:39 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Ezra Pound never retracted anything & got clean away with it. He is still revered on the merits of his poetry but the economic & political views are seldom questioned. Pound of course was not alone in being a supporter of right wing dictatorships. PW Lewis & Roy Campbell & others sang from the same hymn sheets & also got literary veneration. It is too easy to say they simply were naive or of their time & all knew what was involved. Indeed WB Yeats veered to the right & in A Vision outlined his leanings toward a fascist line. Democracy mattered little to the older Yeats who would have embraced a dictatorship in Ireland. It was forgiving for Zukofsky to renew contact with Pound & the many other writers who also became part of his circle. The texts of the radio broadcast speak for themselves as well as The Cantos. These cannot be dismissed or seen as a mere error of judgement. This was no micro war but a global scale macro war in which Ezra took sides. His role was active & far from passive but his writings seem to come before his fascism. Many on here who are happy to tolerate Ezra Pound as a poet know full well the history of World War Two. So Casa Pound today are a well organised party based on a vocational brand of organisation & with a Traditionalist philosophy. Their membership goes across age groups & claims to offer ‘a better society’. It is a big tent party in American terms & Ezra Pound is an inspiration. How they will fare with the Italian voters is as yet not clear but 5 Star & the Northern League may well end up in coalition. Reason may prevail but the polls are worrying to democrats & we must review our stance on Ezra Pound. To turn a blind eye is no longer enough nor are the usual three day wonder street theatre loved on these islands. Pound must not get off the hook & his role in WW2 must not be off the agenda. Casa Pound may be a call to cast a cold eye on Ezra & simply face the facts of his politics. The millions who died deserve huge respect a lot more than Ezra Pound. Maybe the era of Pound has to end & veneration of him should simply stop? The current European swing to the hard right cannot be ignored & the debunking of liberal & socialist values must be countered. Otherwise we could sleepwalk into a third macro war in Europe or a Syrian or Balkan wars calamity. sc Sent from AOL Mobile Mail Get the new AOL app: mail.mobile.aol.com On Sunday, 4 March 2018, Jamie McKendrick <[log in to unmask]> wrote: Hi Sean, I first noticed Casa Pound about a couple of years ago, and haven’t heard it mentioned since. I’m not sure how amazed Pound would have been though, as he clearly nursed inflated ambitions to be a political spokesman, and despite the verbal disavowal of anti-semitism (‘suburban prejudice’ - thereby offloading the responsibility for it onto a blameless site) which Ginsberg claims to have witnessed, there’s no sign that Pound really abjured the views he stated in his radio broadcasts as well as in the Cantos. Jamie Sent from my iPad On 3 Mar 2018, at 11:55, Sean Carey <[log in to unmask]> wrote: Few would have foreseen Casa Pound founded in Italy in 2003 & even Ezra himself would have been amazed. If they make any impact in the Italian election Pound will be back in the land he adopted & is buried in Venice. I note they have accepted his views & the name invokes him. It all of course is a sign of real political sea changes that should worry us all & clearly the post World War Two era is over. The obvious contempt for all the established parties & shared values of liberalism is now a threat. It also is a rejection of socialism of all hues for a Darwinist populism. Simple solutions to complex problems is the Casa Pound M.O. & a lot of young members. Ezra Pound was forgiven by many poets including Louis Zukofsky of course on the merits of his poetry. Did the forgiveness allow Ezra off the hook & Casa Pound are either a blip or a surge of Italian fascist movements? Pound is highly regarded & a key poet in the A list of the legends. Just wondering how others view the Pound ethos given Casa Pound emerging? Cheers sc Sent from AOL Mobile Mail Get the new AOL app: mail.mobile.aol.com