A Lume Spento

by Ezra Pound

First edition of Pound's first book.

Genres: Poetry, American, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1908

About the author

Ezra Weston Loomis Pound was an American expatriate poet, critic and intellectual who was a major figure of the Modernist movement in early-to-mid 20th century poetry.

Pound's The Cantos contains music and bears a title that could be translated as The Songs—although it never is. Pound's ear was tuned to the motz et sons of troubadour poetry where, as musicologist John Stevens has noted, "melody and poem existed in a state of the closest symbiosis, obeying the same laws and striving in their different media for the same sound-ideal - armonia."

In his essays, Pound wrote of rhythm as "the hardest quality of a man's style to counterfeit." He challenged young poets to train their ear with translation work to learn how the choice of words and the movement of the words combined. But having translated texts from 10 different languages into English, Pound found that translation did not always serve the poetry: "The grand bogies for young men who want really to learn strophe writing are Catullus and François Villon. I personally have been reduced to setting them to music as I cannot translate them." While he habitually wrote out verse rhythms as musical lines, Pound did not set his own poetry to music.

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

La prima raccolta di un giovane Pound in Europa. In questa raccolta poetica si intravedono già gli slanci poetici di cui sarà capace in futuro, tuttavia è comprensibile la definizione che ha dato egli stesso del suo primo debutto: "A collection of stale creampuffs". Pasticcini stantii a parte, sono dell'idea che tra questi ci sia ancora qualche buon boccone da gustare.

[Harry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best part about pound is that he is so elitist that even his "juvenelia" stinks flys away, a masterpiece showing the rest of the superstitious signs of his soon to come genius in this history of a poet.

[Duffy Pratt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection is excellent, filled with strength, vibrance and clarity. They are less mired in erudition than most of the Cantos.

They show nothing of his later "insanity" (which may just have been his horrible political ideas and racism that got him thrown into St. Elizabeths, rather than face a prison term for treason). On that, and as an aside, I completely understand the resolution not to read the works of a person who held despicable views, or who did despicable things. And Pound was guilty of both. What I don't get, however, is how one's opinions of a writer's personal life would color one's opinion on the work of the writer. If you don't want to read him, fine. But just because he was a fascist, anti-semitic asshole, that didn't make him a bad writer.

Here, the poems are surprisingly lyrical. They are a bit stark, and deal with sentimental topics without much sentimentality. And there are interesting plays of form and rhyme which I also do not associate with him.

[Rolf · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only looked into Pound's life and politics after reading, out of curiosity. While there is something to admire in his style, I have to admit I couldn't help but feel there wasn't enough substance here to merit reading his stuff further after learning about his actions during WWII. There are better poets to spend time with who don't have the same baggage.

[Bruce · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not worth reading.

[Hadrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

6,5/10

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Make strong old dreams lest this our world lose heart...