I use the Mandelbaum since it has the Italian text and is a readable
translation. For the notes, however, Singleton is the great edition -- not
for its prose, but for sheer erudition. Quite an achievement. When Robert
Hollander and his wife are finished with their translation, I will look at
adopting it.
Cheers,
Tim Redman
-----Original Message-----
From: Robert E. Kibler [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, January 06, 2003 1:03 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Cc: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Difficulty in Dante and Pound
>
I would think adding de Monarchia to this course would really interest
students too. I teach a Dante section in one of my Humanities classes and
do a quickie version of what you do--starting with the troubadors, bon
amour and fin amour, moving to the Tuscans and into the Inferno. But my
question concerns what Dante text you use. I use Sinclair, even though the
translation is done in prose, because of the great notes for each chapter.
We have arguments here in Humanities over which text works best. One
favors Ciardi, another Mandelbaum, and there is me with the Sinclair. I
thought about the Pinski translation, took grad courses myself using
Mandelbaum, and never liked Ciardi's notes. Pound, as I recall, often
refers to the 1910 Dent publishing house translations, and I too like
those best--but what are your (the list, not just Tim Redman's)thoughts on
Dante texts?
Without question Pound is difficult. So is Dante, whom I also teach.
> I just finished another Dante seminar last semester (and I taught the
> same material to an undergraduate class as well). I told both groups
> that I had first read Dante thirty years ago, and felt that I was about
> half way towards understanding him.
>
> The graduate seminar went very well. I had sixteen bright, engaged
> students, who lamented the weekly quiz, but whose questions and
> discussion challenged me. The undergraduate students also lamented the
> weekly quiz. A half-dozen of them were completely engaged throughout
> the course. Many, however, noticeably faded when we came to Purgatorio
> and Paradiso. The course starts with several weeks on selected
> Provencal, Sicilian, and Italian troubadour poems, then we do the Vita
> Nuova, then the Commedia.
>
> Consider that we have had the advantage of nearly seven hundred years
> of Dante scholarship in our current approach to Dante. Yet he is still
> daunting. Pound's conscious model was Dante, and The Cantos is a
> formidable work. The reader must invest time.
>
> For me, they are worth the effort. And I would rather spend my time
> reading and rereading Dante and Pound than reading what passes for
> prose in most journals in my profession.
>
> Cheers!
>
> Tim Redman
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: - Ezra Pound discussion list of the University of Maine
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Stoner James
> Sent: Thursday, January 02, 2003 12:19 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: A complete (ly welcome) change of subject
>
>
> Jay,
>
> My recent posts assumes the great difficulty of Pound. My points
> raised have to do with finding ways of teaching and getting young
> people
> interested in Pounds work, among others important issues regarding his
> poetics, politics, and the relationship between his poetics and
> politics, as well as EzP's influence on culture, postmodernism, etc. I
> don't think I need to revisit the issues raised; they are important
> issues, and will come up from time to time. If it helps, think of me
> as Wei En-Lei, Pound, Berstein, Steiner, (and many others, although I'm
> not sure about Steiner, I will consult my psychic on that one :) now
> resurrected, as James Berstein Steiner Stoner Pound En Lei, if doesn't
> bother me really. I am glad to _be_ a Pound-like personae. I'm afraid
> that Pound would have been proud.
>
> I'm off to Georgia and will only check my e-mail once or twice, so feel
> comfort in the fact that you can go unquestioned for most of my
> absence. Smile people, it WILL be a great year for us all! We are
> already off to a great start.
>
> respectfully,
> Ezstoner
>
> Jay said:
> I thought this was a Pound list. Certainly in the past, before the
> long tempus tacendi, it was often very interesting.
> The recent spate of adolescent whinings about how difficult our poet is
> (why
> do people even respond to that stuff? isn't it just a given?), and
> questions
> about how to teach Zane Grey has me a little confused.
> On the other hand, I thanks Charles, Carlo, and some others for their
> insights, and especially their ability to form a lively sentence.
> I almost miss Wei En-Lei (spelling). Who'd ever've thunk that?
> Jay Anania
>
>
> __________________________________________________
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How can one live freely and without law?
To this enigma man must find an answer,
on pain of death.
Albert Camus, from "Metaphysical Rebellion"
Robert E Kibler, PhD.
English and Humanities
Minot State University
701 858 3876
fax: 701 858 3894
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