Ezra Pound

Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (October 30, 1885 – November 1, 1972) was an American expatriate, poet, musician and critic who, along with T.S. Eliot, was a major figure of the modernist movement in early 20th century poetry. He was the driving force behind several modernist movements, notably Imagism and Vorticism. The critic Hugh Kenner said on meeting Pound: "I suddenly knew that I was in the presence of the center of modernism." Because of his political views, especially his support of Mussolini and his anti-Semitism, Pound continues to attract much criticism. While it is almost impossible to ignore the vital role he played in the modernist revolution in 20th century literature in English, Pound's perceived importance has varied over the years. The location of Pound -- as opposed to other writers such as T.S. Eliot -- at the center of the Anglo-American Modernist tradition was famously asserted by the critic Hugh Kenner, most fully in his account of the Modernist movement titled The Pound Era. The critic Marjorie Perloff has also insisted upon the centrality of Pound to numerous traditions of "experimental" poetry in the 20th century. As a poet, Pound was one of the first to successfully employ free verse in extended compositions. His Imagist poems influenced, among others, the Objectivists and The Cantos were a touchstone for Allen Ginsberg and other Beat poets. Almost every 'experimental' poet in English since the early 20th century has been considered by some to be in his debt. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.