I am sure you are right about Pound being a bad man. As someone who has been trampled by a horse on an anti-fascist demonstration and suffered racist abuse for my relationship I have feelings. But the Confucian stuff in the Cantos doesn't seem to me to express fascism or racism. I kinda like that stuff about sorting yourself out first before pontificating. Have you done that? And does that affect the quality of Pound's writing? Degsey >From: En Lin Wei <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: Ezra Pound discussion list of the University of Maine > <[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Re: Ezra Pound and Fascism--tying in the Confucian dimension >Date: Sun, 21 May 2000 03:37:45 PDT > >Dear listserv members, > >I have written an essay regarding the collapse of Pound's belief system as >evinced >in the Drafts and Fragments. I was prompted to post it on the net partly >in >response >to Garrick Davis' article "Misunderstanding Pound." > >While Garrick Davis may be right in arguing that we cannot make a final >judgment concerning >Pound by reference to his fascism, the issue is further complicated by the >obnoxiousness of >the totality of Pound's ideology. > >I refer not only to Pound's "phallocentrism," his sexism, his elitism, his >penchant for hierarchies, >his pro-Hitlerian, pro-Mussolini, and anti-semitic tirades. The matter is >far more serious. > >My criticism of Pound rests on an analysis of the Chinese elements of his >work. I think Mr. Davis, >in ignoring the East Asian dimension of Pound's thought, misses something >essential. Pound was, arguably >worse than a fascist. He embraced the most retrogressive and >anti-democratic elements of Confucian thought >at a time when the Chinese rightly decided that Confucianism could no >longer >serve as the basis of >a modern society. This was a greater tragedy for Pound than his commitment >to fascism. I would argue >that the problem stems not simply from Pound's enthusiasm for Confucius, >but >from his dedication to >the most right-wing and reactionary school of Confucianism. > >Most students of Pound miss this, and few critics have picked it up. Mr. >Davis is correct when he says >that the Cantos contain less about fascism than we might expect from the >criticisms of the fiercest anti- >Poundians. However, the Cantos do contain a great deal about Confucianism >and Chinese history--this is undeniable. > >And the more one knows about the Chinese historical events which Pound >idealized, the more troubling >the picture becomes. If Pound had only endorsed the politics of Hitler and >Mussolini, he would have >been better off; but he endorses several thousand years of some of the most >oppressive >governments on the face of the earth---his dream was that Hitler and >Mussolini could emulate >the cruelest of the Chinese emperors. > >Many of the gentlest and most delicate artistic impulses of Chinese culture >are the fruit of Buddhist and Taoist >efforts; and for Pound ALL Taoists and Buddhists are no better than >Jews---destined to be swept away. > >Those who wish to explore the issue more fully, who wish to better >understand just what kind of Confucianist Pound was, can visit the article >at > >http://www.geocities.com/danieshalaquand/cantos.html > >Pound may or may not be a great poet. However, the analysis of the moral, >cultural, and political significance >of his work cannot be gauged without a careful look at the Chinese >dimension >of his work, and its relation >to his fascism and his fiercely anti-democratic and racist tendencies. >These tendencies are reflected NOT >merely in the direct references to Mussolini and Hitler contained in the >Cantos, but they permeate his use >(and abuse) of Chinese history. > > > >PW > >[log in to unmask] > > >>Subject: Ezra Pound and Fascism >> >>Dear Listserv Members, >> >>I have written an essay concerning recent trends in the academic criticism >>of >>Ezra Pound (specifically the obsession with his anti-semitism, fascism, >>and >>alleged insanity), which also reviews a number of critical books on the >>subject, including The Roots of Treason by E. Fuller Torrey, The Genealogy >>of >>Demons by Robert Casillo, The American Ezra Pound by Wendy Stallard Flory, >>and The Forméd Trace by Massimo Bacigalupo. >> >>For those interested in reading the essay, "Misunderstanding Ezra Pound," >>the >>link is www.cprw.com. >> >>Thank you, >> >>Garrick Davis >>CPR (www.cprw.com) > >________________________________________________________________________ >Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com