Pound/Zukofsky: Selected Letters

by Barry Ahearn (Editor), Ezra Pound, Louis Zukofsky

Pound / Zukofsky is the fifth volume in the ongoing series, The Correspondence of Ezra Pound. Pound (1885-1972) and Zukofsky (1904-1978) met only three times: in Rapallo, Italy, for a few weeks in 1933; for a few hours in New York, in 1939; and briefly again at St. Elizabeths Hospital, in Washington, D.C., in 1954. Yet by the time of their first meeting, they had already exchanged almost 300 letters. over half of their total correspondence. The two poets knew each other quite literally as men of letters.

Genres: Poetry

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Mat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of letters between two of the greatest literary minds of the twentieth Century, Ezra Pound and Louis Zukofsky, reveals much. It reveals the difficulties many writers have in getting published in the first place, the economic struggles poets and writers experience (i.e. poverty) amidst their desperate search for a publisher or printer. It also reveals much about the complex, contradictory and certainly controversial personality of Mr. Pound. While Pound's anti-semitism both leading up to and during WWII has been well documented and is most unfortunate, what is interesting is how Pound is still interested in writing to Zukofsky, despite his Jewish ancestry. This is perhaps due to the fact that Zukofsky was a non-religious person, eschewing any connections to his supposed Jewish faith, as seen in the following quotation, "C.H.D[ouglas]'s leaning to the Nazi side of anti-semitism in Soc. Credit not very reassuring - in spite of the fact that I'd betray & immolate most of my people for 1 Serly." (P/Z: p. 156)

What surprised me about this collection, was how 'heated' their letters become over time. Pound was known as someone not to mince his words - but tell you directly what he thought and if he thought you were not making enough of an effort in getting published, he would certainly tell you. Or if he thought the quality of your poems was not up-to-scratch he would also tell it like it is, such as in the following comment, "people read books because the author tells em something. If his knowledge of life is less than their own the author is a bore." (P/Z: p. 162). But Zukofsky would sometimes acknowledge that Pound had a point but at other times would defend his actions or writings and give Pound back a bit of his own medicine, with a little extra juice - "you expect people to answer you & you don't present the problem but bark at 'em." (P/Z: p. 177) This was fascinating to see a friendship and relationship between two great writers slowly deteriorate over time with the specters of WWII hanging in the background but after the war and after Pound's incarceration at St. Elizabeth's, the wounds seem to slowly heal, and Pound either turns his focus back to poetry (rather than politics and economics) or at times stops talking all-together.

I also learnt much through this book about 1) what Pound was trying to achieve in some of his Cantos and other work; and 2) what Zukofsky was trying to express through his colossal work of poetry called 'A' and how important music was to him in his life and in his wife, Celia's, work.

In passing, these two men also talk about many other literary luminaries of their times, such as James Joyce, William Carlos Williams, Basil Bunting, Gertrude Stein, Reznikoff, Kenneth Rexroth, George Oppen, as well as some painters and musicians like George Antheil. Therefore, you get this feeling of a wonderful exchange and interchange of letters, ideas, poems and books and philosophies between all these great minds during the 1st half of the 20th Century. I hope a similar trend is continuing somewhere today on Facebook or elsewhere.

[Harry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has finally cured anti-semitism forever...On a serious note: although it's obviously a series of letters: what should be obviously noted is the absolutely beautiful and poetic value the entire book has. Letters between two ideological cranks one a jewish communist and one a wasp fascist, one between a teacher and a student, and one between a young kid who teachs papa what's out of fashion and one who's writing style is so egregiously a deranged version of e e cummings that he even calls himself something along the lines of "papap pound" and sounds like he sits on a porch and drunkenly rambles to his grandchildren about politics.

What's more beautiful I think could be marked by the ending which represents a more realistic version of the actual human reconciliation of ww2 and what it meant on a spiritual level to humankind. Zukofsky as a communist affirming himself in the finality of Ezra Pound's sincere belief in utopia and Pound vaguely asking something about the virtue of "rabbi hillel that I think ford madox ford once mentioned"

There is no final letter published from Zukofsky so it could only be known what he would've said about that "Rabbi Hillel" but in general I think the entire books is probably the only good thing to come out of the war-ridden europe in the early 20th century.

There is no end to the contest of purity between either Zukofsky or Pound, Zukofsky's idealism as a poet is made into realism by Pound's comforting coos, and Pound's volitional messianism is calmed by Zukofsky's rabbinic faith in his purity of telos.

Gonna start pretending i'm 3 3 cummings after reading these letters, really pleased to have found this book

[Liam Guilar]

I bought this in search of Bunting references. The oddest is the point where Zukofsky is partly apologizing for BB's 'over reaction' to Pounds Anti-Semitism.. Bunting was outraged by some comments Pound had made in a letter to Zuk.

The tone Zukofsky adopts to Pound throughout is unnerving.