"Canto XIII - Canto 13" by Ezra Pound (poetry reading)

[rancy000]

spokenverse, I always enjoy your reading voice immensely. I was wondering if you'd perhaps be willing to also read Pound's "Canto I" or "Canto CXVI"?

[mrwrecks13]

The last three lines of this canto have, in a paraphrasing of Dickinson, blown my head clean off. Much respect to Master Ezra.

[eldarwen213]

gracias!!!!

[defaultedloan]

At around 3:30, you repeat "a day when the historians left blanks in their writings." This isn't in the original canto; it's an error from when the canto was transcribed onto the internet. It's not in the original volume nor in any printed collection.

[SpokenVerse]

Thanks, that clears up the confusion in my mind. I was bothered by it - but I looked at a few versions on the web and they were all the same. The poem was requested by a subscriber.

Ezra Pound in "How to Read" describes three elements, "melopoeia," "phanopoeia," and "logopoeia" corresponding to music, image and intellect. I like him best when he's most melopoeiac. I tried to read the rest of his huge volume of work but found the going too hard and the rewards too small.

[scifiwritir]

Wow, the canto has the feel of Hebraic (Biblical) Poetry. All those "ands" especially. Never realized the effect of that on Pound. But then KJV has affected so many English poets.

[thallassocracy]

For some reason the lines:

Without character you will

be unable to play on that instrument

always pop into my head whenever I watch 'The X Factor'.

I really can't think why ...

[SpokenVerse]

You're almost psychic. Less than an hour ago i made a very similar remark to somebody else who read this poem.