To all, and in particular to Jay Anania,
Thanks for leading up to/bringing up, the subject of EP and surrealism.
He called Cavalcanti a surrealist and wrote that the germinal impulse to
surrealism began in the 13th century (why not earlier?). A quick source
for these comments is EP and the Visual Arts. Once read, some of his
comments in his essay "Cavalcanti" in LE come into focus as comments on
surrealist aspects of Cavalcanti's poetry. Cavalcanti was one of the
many personae Pound adapted.
I am also curious why Pound doesn't write much of his own work in
relation to surrealism.
The French surrealists were too much into psychoanalysis for EP's taste;
his interest was a psychology which factored in the environment, economy
and social issues as well as personal, aesthetic and religious. But the
Italian and German surrealist/magic realist art with social commentary
and references to the heroic do seem to be in sympathy to Pound's
interests. Who were the Italian surrealists and what was their
relationship to Futurism?
I'm guessing that an identification with surrealism would undermine the
epic poem even though there does seem to be a real interest on Pound's
side. So he has surrealists within the poem.
Can anyone comment on these musings? and enlighten us further?
Best,
Margaret

(PS EP loved Cocteau's masks for Antigone - probably thought they'd work
well with Le Testament staging plans)