I want to thank Tim Materer for his "review" of I CEASE NOT TO YOWL. I, of course, agree with his assessment of the importance of the correspondence, and must humbly agree that his emendations are almost certainly correct--and our annotations on those points in error. I can only say in our defence that the task of annotation for this edition was enormous--and note that not everyone possesses Tim's amazing erudition. I would cavil a bit at his characterization of Olivia Rossetti Agresti as "a fervent and entirely unrepentant Fascist." Though Tim notes correctly that she was not an anti-Semite, it should also be noted that she was in her youth an anarchist, and retained throughout her life a charitable and generous spirit toward all men and women, and especially her Italian co-citizens. I think it would be more accurate to characterize her as an Italian patriot and political conservative. She showed no sorrow at the fall of Mussolini, but had been a supporter of the regime, and was disturbed by the economic sufferings of herself and others in Italy during the liberation (AFTER Italy had signed a cease fire with the Allies) and in the early post war years. Agrestic, of course, is not of primary interest to Poundians, but I grew quite fond of her in editing this correspondence, and want to defend her memory. Tim also wrote: "... the Pound on display here is monomaniacal on the subject of the Jews: a gibbering paranoiac with a mouth full of antisemitic cliches." I would like to be able to say that this is too strong. Certainly it is harsher than anything I have, or would be innclined, to write. However, I have to admit that Pound comes off very badly in many of these letters. It is a credit to Mary de Rachewiltz that she permitted us to publish these letters without any elisions--except for lists of addresses and the like. As Tim concedes, the "letters demonstrate that Pound did continue to read and think and grow while he was in St. Elizabeths." Alas his agenda was set and it remained founded on a paranoid committment to the existence of a Zionist conspiracy. My forthcoming book from Illinois UP, POUND IN PURGATORY traces how Pound sunk into that slough of despond, and (I hope) will redeem somewhat his humanity--though not his wisdom. Perhaps this is enought to be said. As I said at the outset, Tim's assessment of the correspondence is very much in line with my own--and more accurate on some points!