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        Steven, for guidance you might look at Pound's lists in "How to
Read." To what you have here, I'd add Provencal poets, & recommend Paul
Blackburn's translations in "Proensa" & other volumes. Then Dante, sample
the different translations. I like the old 3 vol. Dent edition--I don't
remember the translator-- with Italian en face. Pound would insist on
Confucius, but I think you can add that later. p.s. These are just friendly
suggestions, I don't teach Pound. If I did, I'd say just start reading The
Cantos, and spiral out from there. Sylvester Pollet
 
At 7:42 AM -0500 11/17/99, Steven Santos wrote:
>Actually, considering the flames I've seen, should I say burned.  ;)
>
>Hi:
>
>I took a modern poetry class last semester and REALLY enjoyed it.  It was my
>first look at poetry since I was forced to read Shakespeare in ninth grade --
>way too dense for a walking hormone.
>
>In my university class we started with Yeat's went to Eliot and finally read
>Personae and The Pisa Cantos -- at the tail end of that class I signed on to
>this list, realized it was over my head but when I saw that there were flames
>being thrown from academics I stayed...
>
>Anyway, I want to read the Cantos from beginning to end and would like some
>advise on literary prerequisites to help me digest it.  On my own I started
>with Homer, "The Metamorphosis", "The Aenied".  Recently I've been working
>through the Greek tragedies and comedies.  I'm really surprised at how
>intense, vivid, and fun these "classics" have been!
>
>Didn't Pound wonder what the world would be like if we just read the
>classics?  I want to read them.  Can you help me?
>
>Thank you much,
>
>Steven
>
>PS: If anyone responds with a non English text could you also recommend a
>specific translation.  I'm sorry, but Penguin's "Odyssey" was lame against
>Loeb's.
 
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