But you don't need to posit an ancient "you" in order to have license to
explore those wider mythic implications, Burt. For Pound, a poet writing in
the 20th century could be on equal terms with Ovid or Catullus. In the
truest sense, the 'classical' is a quality to be found in the craft and in
the vision, not a *temporal* attribute. Remember what Ford Maddox Ford said
when accosted/interviewed by Pound in Italy--the interview where Ford
impatiently replies "brush his teeth!" to Pound's question "What's the
first thing an artist should do?" Real artists, Ford says, are
*indistinguishable*.
Tim Romano


At 09:10 PM 8/16/03, Burt Hatlen wrote:
>Of course, Tim is right, and I was creating a false problem: the "you" of
>"Canzon: The Yearly Slain" is obviously Manning--Pound tells us in a
>headnote that the poem was written in response to a poem by Manning, and I
>should have taken this
>statement as the answer to my question.  I guess that I was intrigued by
>the wider implications of the "yearly slain"--not only Kore, but also
>Adonis and Osiris--and wanted to find a largely mystery here.
>
>Burt Hatlen
>
>[log in to unmask]> writes:
> >Frederic Manning maybe.
> >Tim Romano
> >
> >At 01:20 PM 8/14/03, Burt Hatlen wrote:
> >>Listers,
> >>
> >>Here'a a question, born out of something a little more than idle
> >>curiosity: In the first poem of Canzoni, "Canzon: The Yearly Slain," EP's
> >>envoy reads as follows: "Be sped, my Canzon, through the bitter air! / To
> >>him who speaketh words as fair as
> >>these, / Say that I also know nthe "Yearly Slain" (CEP 134). Who is the
> >>fellow-poet, that EP sees as the destined audience of his canzon? I've
> >>checked Jackson, Witemeyer, and Grieve, but haven't found an answer in
> >>their books on the early poetry.
> >>My best guess is that he's sending the poem to Ovid: see the lines from
> >>the Marlowe's translation of the Amores, as quoted in the ABC of Reading:
> >>"And brydes from Memnon yeerly shall be slaine." But maybe I'm missing
> >>some obvious reference to a
> >>classical poet who wrote about the "Yearly Slain"?
> >>
> >>Burt Hatlen
> >>
> >>
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