>From: Tim Bray <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Re: Animal House at the Ezuversity >To: [log in to unmask] >Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2000 17:14:45 -1000 > >At 04:21 PM 1/12/00 -1000, Everett Lee Lady wrote: >>And many of his old >>colleagues who might otherwise have simply dropped him went out of their >>way to send friendly communications to him in St. Elizabeths simply >>because of the injustice of the way he was being treated. > >Unlike E.L.L., I was never there. But I wonder whether the time in St.Liz, >while it was certainly anomalous and questionably procedurally, can really >be called "unjust". It's not obvious to me, either way. -Tim Whether something is "unjust" or not is not one of those questions that can be settled on a factual basis, but rather a matter of judgement. I meant only to present what I believe was the point of view of almost all of Pound's old friends, even including some who were no longer so friendly (Archibald MacLeish, for instance). I believe that most of those who had known him since the Paris days believed about his radio broadcasts that E.P. had been guilty of extreme stupidity, horrible judgement, and something that went way beyond a matter of mere bad taste. And in a way, I think that many of them believed he was crazy and had always been crazy. But they didn't think he belonged in a lunatic asylum. And they didn't think what he had done justified putting him in jail either. And, in any case, those who had actually done what Pound was accused of --- treason --- and had been tried and sent to jail, served ten-year sentences and were free while E.P. was still in the bughouse. Based on everything I have read, this was by far the prevailing sentiment among Pound's old friends. Obviously their point of view was prejudiced, and there were still a lot of people in the world who thought that no conceivable treatment could be harsh enough punishment for what Pound had done, but eventually the government reached the point where it was no longer comfortable with having Pound in the bughouse. --Lee Lady