Ezra Pound - Life and Works

American Poet, Critic and Translator

Jun 11, 2008
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Ezra Pound, American Poet, Critic, Translator - Wikimedia Commons

Biography of poet Ezra Pound, a major influence in 20th century's Modernism movements, imagism and vorticism. Best known for 'The Cantos.'

American poet and writer Ezra Pound had a great influence on the development of poetry in the 20th century. One of the driving forces of the Modernism movement, in particular, Imagism and Vorticism. He did not only write poems to be admired for their originality, but he also encouraged the careers of other authors, including literary greats T.S. Eliot, James Joyce and Ernest Hemingway.

Early Life of Ezra Pound

Born in Hailey, Idaho, on October 30, 1885, Ezra Loomis Pound was brought up in Wyncote, near Philadelphia. He went to the University of Pennsylvania at the age of 16 before pursuing studies at Hamilton College, Indiana.

He left for Europe and briefly stayed in Venice, Italy, where he wrote his first collection of poems, A Lume Spento, and had it published. He moved to London, met Ford Madox Ford, James Joyce and Wyndham Lewis, and published Exultations in 1909.

He quickly established himself as a strong advocate of experimental literature and later influenced poet William Carlos Williams. He used his contacts to support and get the work of T.S. Eliot and James Joyce published for the first time.

Paris and The Cantos

In 1920, at 35 years old, Pound moved to Paris. He had already begun his masterpiece, the sequence of 30 poems known as The Cantos. This work was long and complex, more so difficult to understand. It occupied Ezra Pound for most of his life. In it, he makes references to a wide range of characters, events and books from the past. Notably, Pound wanted The Cantos to be an epic for his time, a similar fashion to the works of the great writers Homer and Dante.

Italy and World War II

By 1925, in his 40s, Pound settled in Italy, a country whose history and literature he had always loved. He stayed in Italy when World War II began and made a series of radio broadcasts that blamed the Jewish people for causing the war. After the war ended, Pound was arrested by the US Army because of his involvement with the fascist Italian government.

Later Years

He spent 12 years in an American mental hospital, where he continued to write great poetry before returning to live in Italy. He died in Venice, Italy, on November 1, 1972, at the age of 87.