Mark....
 
"Elite" & "elitist" are words that carry many different meanings to many
different people, ranging from respect to contempt.  "Snobbery" is clearly
pejorative.   It was not my intention to denigrate anyone who loves poetry
and poets, obscure or famous.  The same goes for anyone who devotes his or
her life to scholarship, teaching, or education. It was not my intention to
disparage anyone who reads, enjoys, studies or discusses any subject no
matter how esoteric or obscure.
 
But we are talking about EP here, a poet who chose to be a puppet lapdog for
a Fascist dictator in part because the president of the United States didn't
drop the concerns of state to hear his (EP's) grandiose political rantings.
The fact that he picked up a castle in the bargain might also be interpreted
as elitist, might it not?
 
Pound's choice to write in many languages - some of them moribund if not
deceased - fits into the "elite snobbery" category in my opinion.  Wasn't
one of Dante's great contributions writing in common language rather than
Latin, an archaic language (even then) kept alive for ceremony and - dare I
use the word again - snobbery?
 
If greatness in poetry is measured by counting the number of obscure
literary references & linguistic excursions per page, then EP is clearly the
greatest poet of our times.  A desire to unravel or understand some of those
mysteries drew me to this list.  But it was always my belief that Pound's
stature was as much for his theories, editing skills and cultivation of
other talents as for his poetry.
 
Pound is also great because his writings challenge readers to look into
other cultures, other ages, other ideas. This leads to many areas where most
people will not have the time to go.  That's where a small group of devotees
can illuminate the darker corners for those who lack the time or temperament
for serious study.  That group could be considered elite with no pejorative
implication to the word.  Members of this list fall into that category.
 
But it seemed to me that there was considerable "snobbery" in the response
to See's article.  Snobbery in the "who does she think she is" attitude
exhibited, and in comments about the Washington Post &  journalists in
general.   I've done a lot of PR work for causes many people think are lost
(labor unions & citizen advocacy groups), and always welcomed the attention
of mainstream media as evidence of continuing interest in the subjects.
Being ignored is the worst fate of all.
 
Bill Wagner
 
Mark wrote:
 
> >Having made my living for many years as a journalist, I'd like to
> >comment in defense of the Post & Carolyn See.  Most people outside of
> >academia do not share the enthusiasm for obscure references and
> >multi-lingual poems.  It always struck me as elitist snobbery... a kind
> >of intellectual showing off, as in "see how many languages I know" ...
> >aimed at other people who could devote their lives unravelling puzzles
> >so they, too, could show off their erudition.
> >
> >Count me on the side of the Post on this one, although I too agree that
> >they are usually more aligned with the people who write the paychecks
> >than those who receive them.
> >
>
> I am not an academic. I read [and re-read] the Cantos just for
> pleasure, as most other readers do.
> It seems to me that Pound uses other languages the same way
> he uses English. That is, his English runs the gamut from Olde English,
> middle English, Elizabethan, 18th Century prose, pedantic, slangy,
> conventionally poetic, conventionally un-poetic, a dozen dialects,
> etc. I gather that,like Shakespeare, Ez wanted to use all the
> words and "styles" he knew in order to fit the global range
> of the epic he intended. Since he knew several other languages,
> he used them, too.
> Words like "elitist snob" are called "snarl words" in general semantics,
> because they convey mammalian anger without human (rational)
> content. But if it makes Mr Wagner happpy I will try to feel
> ashamed of liking a book he doesn't like.
>
> mark chan
>
> [log in to unmask]
>
> That is precisely what common sense is for, to be jarred into uncommon
> sense.  One of the chief services whcih mathematics has  rendered the
> human race in the past century is to put "common sense" where it
> belongs, on the topmost shelf next to the dust cannister labeled
> "discarded nonsense."
>         Eric  Temple   Bell, Mathematics: Queen of the Sciences
>
> Las die Lasagne weiter fliegen!
>
> ~