Ezra Pound 5

[tkdcoach]

This is great stuff, but I wish I could shake him out of the fakery of the voice he's using...it's not American (and no real surprise there) but it's as limited as the Victorian voice(s) he despised.

[SLACKER614]

Pound, like all americans, had a first amendment right to free speech...as for WW2..John Adams , one of our original founders, wrote that we should stay out of euro wars...as of 2010..Ezra pound was correct, as well as Louis-Ferdinand Celine..

[Laborynthus]

What thou lov'st well remains.

[gorbochevy]

the cantos is impossible...ive been reading it for over a year...and yet i see in the pisan cantos the same desperation and cantankerous attitude of most modern poets...modernist poets do not know how to just BE, it seems. There must always exist a lamentation, whether spiritual, as in Eliot's the wasteland, or political, as with the fascist known as pound and his polemic against usury, among other things. I should perhaps mention that pound is one of my favorite poets, actually.

[beppu]

@gorbochevy When you live in a corrupt civilization such as ours, you would be crazy NOT to be angry. When his great love for humanity was confronted by great injustice, righteous anger is what naturally happens.

Also, usury is the foundation of our economic slavery. I'm glad he spoke against it so eloquently.

[tenaciousbee]

breeegs,

this is from a series on PBS called Voices and Visions. They did Wallace Stevens, T.S. Eliot and others.

[SLACKER614]

ezra pound... anti-modern genius....

[1Wrexham]

We live in an era wherein the concept of Treason has been debased. Treason now means approximately He who varies from the class prejudices of the Ruling Mediocracy. Those who live to enforce these prejudices, conversely, are called "Patriotic". Pound had his opinions, yes. Hot,black,highly caffeinated opinions. He offended the delicate sensibilities of those whose ideas have the character of warm milque. He did a great service by dousing their house with gasoline ideas and igniting it his tongue

[moonOandOmoon]

^ This comment is fantastic.

[countrad]

so well put sir!

[MajesticIndolence]

So romanticized--if that is the word--a view of Pounds' political opinions would not survive a conscientious reading of the transcripts of the Rome broadcasts. Unless, of course, the author of this post is in favor of the venom he spewed there.

[lamedwufnik]

Yes, it is him. He was confined in Saint Elizabeth Asylum, Washington, from 1945 to 1958. When he was freed, he returned to Italy and one of the first pictures of him there showed him making the fascist waving. Having said that, for me he is one of the greatest poets of the XXth century. He said terrible things about Jewish people and at the same time helped and suppported Jewish poets like Louis Zukofsky and George Oppen. His behaviour puzzles me and hurts me, because I truly love his work.

[ashburnhouse]

Have you read about his apology? I agree with you totally.

[lillie088]

Ezra was imprisoned i heard for treson, for tens of years without trial, and realised without conviction.supposedly after 9 or so years they heard his case and asked him how he planned to defend himself. he said hed stand by everything he ever utterd politicaly.and they got socaligesed to find him incompetent to partisipate in his own defence because he said hed stand by everything he ever utterd politicaly.

[VladekMeyer83]

Thanks so much for posting this! I absolutely love Pound's work.

From what program was this taken??

[discosdolar]

This is really honest, sad, real. His voice was wonderful... a genius!

[JAlfredPrufrock]

What a surprise, I've been mentally repeating this fragment over the last 10 years!

This small piece of Art justifies the existence of Youtube, Internet, computers and even electricity. tks comrade!

[JJ77TTUU3]

absolutely one of my favorite and most memorable videos on youtube

[theresarrt7]

Most excellent video. As humans, we are all flawed. This flawed man wrote great poetry, and this is his greatest.

[l0025b]

This sick bigoted imbecile should have been reserved in the mental institution Bellvue. What a screwball.

[breeeegs]

Many great artists are temperamental and eccentric. Its just their way. Leave Pound alone. He may have been flawed and prejudiced, but his poetry was electrifying, and its the poetry that will remain

[soulstice99]

you're dross.

[josxrocx]

ha ha ha. you wrote a poetic homage to ezra pound, do you think he'll be proud? he's the biggest f@ckin snob!? he'd laugh you outta the class! f"cking fascist...

[soulstice99]

Thanks for posting this. It's great to hear the master's voice.

[a84grn]

this canto has absolutely nothing to do with politics

[breeeegs]

is that Pound in the video? I know its his voice...

[DragonTent]

As slow as he walks, even at the end, he's quicker

than sleepwalking zombie communists.

[wleming]

pull down thy fascism

pull down the state

break mussollinis plate

poor ezra who saw too late

he had given voice

to death's terrible state

[fagiu]

One of the greatest poem of the XX century. Pull down thy vanity. What thou lovest well remains, the rest is dross