5 Poundin' Quotes By Ezra Pound
Start writing a post
Community

5 Poundin' Quotes By Ezra Pound

"The temple is holy because it is not for sale"

96
https://a.kpcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/ezra-pound-rex-web-billboard2-e1502279902104-2000x1125.jpg

Publishing "Lume Spento" - his fist collection poems in 1908, Ezra Pound arose to become one of the foremost figures in the movement of literary modernism.

Establishing his reputation as a poet and an editor of several American Literary Magazines, Pound's championship of imagism - a writing style derived from Chines and Japanese poetry that stressed clarity, precision, and economy of language - helped to mentor and inspire an entire generation of writers renowned to this day. Writers that include Ernest Hemingway, T.S. Eliot, James Joyce, and Robert Frost.

But despite his high regard within the highest echelons of literature, Pound also proved to be an individual of polarizing proportions. Disillusioned with the horrors of WWI, and shifting the blame for its cause predominantly towards Great Britain, Pound realigned his political sympathies with fascism. Outwardly supporting Hitler and the Third Reich and accepted payments from Benito Mussolini to issue radio broadcasts criticizing the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

But despite his support for a far-right movement responsible for one of the most heinous atrocities in past, and recent memory, the native of Hailey, Idaho managed to evade charges of treason, and awarded the Bollingen Prize in 1949 by The Library of Congress for his lifetime contribution to poetry.

Here are 5 quotes that put the pound in Ezra Pound:

1. "Literature is news that stays news."

Its one thing to be able to tell a story, its another to make literature. Literature is a story that is told, and when told again, sounds as if you're hearing the story for the first time.

2. "Properly, we should read for power. Man reading should be man intensely alive. The book should be a ball of light in one's hand."

While one must work to make a living, it is what he reads that determines just how much he is alive.

3. "A slave is one who waits for someone to come and free him."

A free man is a man who frees himself. Not one who seeks to have another claim him.

4. "Glance is the enemy of vision."

A sight that gives the canvas a quick one over is a sight that falls short of being able to see the paint, the shade, and the texture that gives the bigger picture all of its beauty.

5. "The temple is holy because it is not for sale."

There is nothing that leaves behind a larger stain, a fouler stench upon the greatest, and the most beautiful monuments of the world than the money used to erect them. To destroy them.

Though perhaps few remain eager to remember Ezra Pound well, there also remain many. Many that did not live as he lived, nor were alive when he was alive. But nonetheless seek to remember him all the same.

As an artist, a writer, a literary craftsman who espoused poetry as memorable as memory itself. A memory as a great as the memorable novels and poems created by authors pounded into memory by Ezra Pound himself.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Student Life

Waitlisted for a College Class? Here's What to Do!

Dealing with the inevitable realities of college life.

59263
college students waiting in a long line in the hallway
StableDiffusion

Course registration at college can be a big hassle and is almost never talked about. Classes you want to take fill up before you get a chance to register. You might change your mind about a class you want to take and must struggle to find another class to fit in the same time period. You also have to make sure no classes clash by time. Like I said, it's a big hassle.

This semester, I was waitlisted for two classes. Most people in this situation, especially first years, freak out because they don't know what to do. Here is what you should do when this happens.

Keep Reading...Show less
a man and a woman sitting on the beach in front of the sunset

Whether you met your new love interest online, through mutual friends, or another way entirely, you'll definitely want to know what you're getting into. I mean, really, what's the point in entering a relationship with someone if you don't know whether or not you're compatible on a very basic level?

Consider these 21 questions to ask in the talking stage when getting to know that new guy or girl you just started talking to:

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

Challah vs. Easter Bread: A Delicious Dilemma

Is there really such a difference in Challah bread or Easter Bread?

38309
loaves of challah and easter bread stacked up aside each other, an abundance of food in baskets
StableDiffusion

Ever since I could remember, it was a treat to receive Easter Bread made by my grandmother. We would only have it once a year and the wait was excruciating. Now that my grandmother has gotten older, she has stopped baking a lot of her recipes that require a lot of hand usage--her traditional Italian baking means no machines. So for the past few years, I have missed enjoying my Easter Bread.

Keep Reading...Show less
Adulting

Unlocking Lake People's Secrets: 15 Must-Knows!

There's no other place you'd rather be in the summer.

959757
Group of joyful friends sitting in a boat
Haley Harvey

The people that spend their summers at the lake are a unique group of people.

Whether you grew up going to the lake, have only recently started going, or have only been once or twice, you know it takes a certain kind of person to be a lake person. To the long-time lake people, the lake holds a special place in your heart, no matter how dirty the water may look.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Top 10 Reasons My School Rocks!

Why I Chose a Small School Over a Big University.

197191
man in black long sleeve shirt and black pants walking on white concrete pathway

I was asked so many times why I wanted to go to a small school when a big university is so much better. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure a big university is great but I absolutely love going to a small school. I know that I miss out on big sporting events and having people actually know where it is. I can't even count how many times I've been asked where it is and I know they won't know so I just say "somewhere in the middle of Wisconsin." But, I get to know most people at my school and I know my professors very well. Not to mention, being able to walk to the other side of campus in 5 minutes at a casual walking pace. I am so happy I made the decision to go to school where I did. I love my school and these are just a few reasons why.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments