Download 2001: Ezra Pound and the Sea, for American Literature

Short entry on Ezra Pound for An Encyclopedia of American Literature of the Sea and
Great Lakes. Robert Kibler, University of Minnesota
POUND, EZRA (1885-1872). Ezra Pound was born in Hailey, Idaho. As an ex-patriate
living in Europe, Pound’s experiments with translation and poetic form resulted in his
vivid translation of the Anglo-Saxon poem “The Seafarer,” and in the imagist style of his
long poem, the Cantos. The Cantos juxtapose precise but dissimilar images under the
premise that the interaction between them will help create meaning. Some of these
images take just half of a poetic line to deliver; others take many pages. For this reason,
the Cantos are variously called obscure, incoherent, or one of the masterworks of the
twentieth century.
The Cantos take the epic sea traveler Odysseus as their recurring protagonist who
navigates vast seas of philosophy, history, literature, and even politics. The poem begins
with Odysseus travelling to the underworld to meet the dead southsayer Tiresias. Tiresias
tells Odysseus, just as he is told in Homer’s Odyssey, that he will return home over dark
seas, losing all companions. But Pound’s Odysseus never returns, and Pound never
finishes his poem. Nevertheless, the Cantos set out upon a tremendous journey through
time, with particularly long stops in medieval China, colonial America, and modern
Europe.
During the literary journey of the Cantos, Pound simply touches upon a few
details of any one of the given subjects that he treats, then changes subjects. He models
this approach in part on what he knows of the sailing technique of Hanno, ancient
Carthaginian sailor, who explored uncharted waters by always keeping in rough relation
to whatever shoreline was available. Pound likewise changes the points of topical
reference as his images unfold--“in periplum”--a term taken from “periplus,” the Greek
name for the standard navigational technique used in the ancient world.
Pound’s advocacy of Fascism during World War II resulted in his imprisonment
outside of Pisa, Italy. In Pisa, his experiences of fear, lament, and regret caused him to
have a mental breakdown. During some of his most trying personal moments, he calls
out through his Cantos to Kuanon, Chinese goddess of Mercy, and patron deity of those
who travel by sea.