I am now
investigating what happened between Pound's arrest, because of politics,
and his release, thanks to poetry!

Marie-Noelle,
   the answer of course is mccarthyism,...the purge and re-formation of
american political subjectivity.   all  forms of prole discourse,
communism/fascism, were criminalized; thot police (fbi)  pursued and
punished, rosenbergs  to robeson, all hetero shades of doxy.

bob

----- Original Message -----
From: Marie-Noelle Little <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, February 28, 2003 9:42 AM
Subject: Yet another possibility, or "An American in Paris"


> The most interesting reply I got after sending my "French wine and
> American cheese" message came from my brother in Paris, in the form of a
> question: "C'est quoi Pound?".  Not even, "WHO is Pound?", but just
> "Pound, what's THAT?"  I am shocked that my brother doesn't even know
> what I am working on, rather than him not knowing who Pound is.  I am
> surrounded by people who don't know Pound, and also by some who
> immediately start attacking me verbally, as if it was illegal to "work
> on Pound".  Librarians checking out my books usually just politely say
> "oh!?!? Pound".
>
> No, I am not complaining (which, I tell my students, is the French
> national sport), I am just surprised to realize that our 300 or more
> types of cheese would never be as good as "American cheese", for my
> student, who is not going to Paris, but to Lyon.  I am sure one can find
> American cheese in Paris (and perhaps even in Lyon), but why waste her
> time in France looking for American cheese or peanut butter?
>
> I made a point of saying that I am a "female", just because others
> (outside Pound circles) seem to make a difference between male and
> female professors, for example.  Also, I had the impression that the
> list may be like a private club, for men only.
>
> I threw in the "Virgo" detail, just to show that I do read my messages.
> Yes, it is true that sometimes I get a little impatient, but I would
> never ask anybody to "shut up!".  I wrote to a friend that some of the
> exchanges on the list reminded me of being behind two joggers on the
> road, who don't leave me enough room to pass them, and I have to listen
> also to their discussion about Viagra! (I was exaggerating, of course).
> And when I hit spell check, before sending my message, "Virgo" came up
> as a better word instead of Viagra!
>
> What I said about Pound and Paris is not completely wrong, in the sense
> that I am wondering why Pound is often seen as NOT American. The same
> way French poet Saint-John Perse, for us Perse scholars, has never been
> a typical FRENCH poet.  This is not a question of good or bad French
> influence, but more a question of what influence did Paris (and London)
> really have on Pound as a poet and as a person?  Let's reverse the
> situation and wonder if French poet Émile Pondu (who spent time in New
> York and New Brunswick) would have ended up at "St Anne" in Paris after
> anti-gaullist radio broadcasts from the U.S.?
>
> In other words, did you arrest Pound because he was American or did you
> arrest a poet who happened to have American papers?  Again, I am over
> simplifying a question that is quite complex, I know (especially if one
> gets into the whole issue of fascism, etc.).
>
> I am not a Pound scholar, but for the last twenty years most of my
> research has been related to  poetry and diplomacy.  I am now
> investigating what happened between Pound's arrest, because of politics,
> and his release, thanks to poetry!  So, just for the sake of the book I
> am trying to write, please allow me to be like a UN inspector, asking
> simple questions and trying to get to the truth.
>
> Any wine will do, and today my daughter is bringing me some French
> cheese from New York (if they are still on the shelves).  Like Dirk
> Johnson, she wants to move to France.  We all do, at times.
>
> Marie-Noëlle