His statements concerning free radio speech are not in the poetry, but 
are by far the most interesting on the topic. Pound more than seventy 
years ago advocated radio broadcasts of the meetings of Congress.

His own indictment for treason is covered in Conrad Rushing's brilliant 
article on the subject. Indirectly, the same problem came up when Bill 
Clinton ran for President.

Rushing cites the "mere words" precedent -- U.S. citizens cannot be 
charged with treason for speaking their minds.

Although his legal reasoning is impeccable, the site of free speech can 
be called into question. If Pound broadcast from Radio Iowa, he would 
not have been indicted. The fact that he broadcast from Radio Rome got 
him into trouble. The "mere words" doctrine still holds, but post WWII 
sentiment ran high.

William Joyce, "Lord Haw Haw." was charged, convicted, and executed for 
treason in England after WWII for his broadcasts from Germany. The fact 
that he was not a British citizen did not deter the English.

Bill Clinton was criticized severely for his protests against the 
Vietnam War during the late sixties. Of course many protested. But 
Clinton's protests were from Moscow.

My advice -- go to Pound's prose. There's a lot there on your topic of 
free speech.

Cheers,

Tim Redman


Marie-Noelle Little wrote:


>I am looking for some Pound poems that might deal directly or indirectly
>with the notion of free speech?
>
>Marie-Noelle Little
>