>Many of Carpenter's opinions come second- or third-hand, and he
>shows no ability to respond to Pound's writing (particularly the poetry)
>in any vital way. By a "vital" response I don't necessarily mean
>"positive," so much as a response that shows some sensitivity to the
>differences between a poem and a newspaper editorial.
I think the above is exactly right. It seems rare to find a biograpy of a
poet that actually is interested in its subject as a poet rather than a
cultural or psychological entity. A recent good example is Carolyn Burke's
biography of Mina Loy.
So I would like to put in a good word for Jim Wilhelm's three volume
biography of Pound, which shows a high sensitivity to Pound the poet.
Timothy Materer, 107 Tate Hall, English Department
University of Missouri, Columbia MO 65211
Fax: 573 882-5785
Modern_Poets-L: The Modern Poets Electronic Discussion Forum
http://www.missouri.edu/~engtim/mopo.html