kristen stevens writes:
>....And for those of you not
>familiar with Benedict Anderson, what can you say about the utopian
>Pound?
kirsten,
i always kinda assumed that ep had imbibed the at the time
very topical gemeinschaft v gesselschaft notion of tonnies
....and that especially the us was the supreme exemplum
of the latter
...and that his "utopic" vision was a function of his reaction
against bourgeois liberal gesselschaft.
 
bob
 
-----Original Message-----
From: K Stevens <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Friday, December 10, 1999 7:56 PM
Subject: Imagined Communities
 
 
>> Lucas Klein wrote:
>>
>> > but I've lost the topic of Pound. Pound's writing seems to me
>> essentially Western, based on a great misunderstanding of Chinese
>> and Asian philosophy, language, tradition, poetry, etc. I haven't
>> done
>> anywhere near the amount of research required to back up this
>> kind of statement, but well, is there anyone willing either to refute
>> or
>> support the idea that Pound just didn't get Asia?
>
>I have a question about a project based on this idea, that Pound was
>essentially Western.  I wrote a brief thesis a few years ago using
>Benedict Anderson's theory of imagined communities to argue that Pound
>created his own "imagined community."  It began with his participation
>in London/Paris newspapers and politics.  Later, his "nation" was
>"populated" by his pen pals (or American politician recipients of his
>letters) and "recipients" of his radio broadcasts.  His interpretation
>of Confucius/Mencius and the writings of Jefferson/Adams fueled his
>hope for an American renaissance.  In a way, Pound's misunderstandings
>of Chinese philosophy reflect a westernization of it..
>
>Throwing this at all of you in such brevity without explaining Benedict
>Anderson's theory on nationalism is not fair.  As a non-academic now,
>my research has slowed down.  But I would like some input from anyone
>familiar with Anderson's theory on nationalism.  My impression of Pound
>has been from this angle (Pound as expatriot patriot American with a
>Mencius twist).  Any comments or suggestions?  And for those of you not
>familiar with Benedict Anderson, what can you say about the utopian
>Pound?
>
>Thanks,
>Kristen Stevens
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