The Cantos
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- a leaf in the current condom full of black beetles hate is not born in the trenches i cannot make it cohere i have tried to write paradise indulge the banter pound for pound pull down thy vanity she is an octopus the great ball of crystal the hells move in cycles the temple is holy because it is not for sale the vines burst from my fingers thought is a labyrinth unexpected excellent sausage
jenks
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I’ve been reading a few every day (up to XXII) and I would really recommend reading them as all part of one long poem - themes come and go then return, characters pop up and disappear. Sometimes a canto feels like a dud only for Pound to pass by later returning to those themes - like a painter or a sculptor returning to a form or subject.
There also seems to be a lot of overlap with the Wordsworth thread - what is being fought over is the determination for the primacy of imagination in all its manifest forms. Psychedelic in the sense of what is deep within the mind and also that sense of revelatory power of art. I’m guessing it’s what’s best about Prynne too but I can’t always get there with him.
There also seems to be a lot of overlap with the Wordsworth thread - what is being fought over is the determination for the primacy of imagination in all its manifest forms. Psychedelic in the sense of what is deep within the mind and also that sense of revelatory power of art. I’m guessing it’s what’s best about Prynne too but I can’t always get there with him.
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jenks
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I have now finished the first 30 which make up the first volume of The Cantos. I’m still enjoying them especially as various characters reappear and start to represent certain touchstones for him. Also to get the values which underpin the poems - Belief as Paradise - seeing accurately and feeling intensely, nature not to be cast aside - redeeming what is redeemable in nature. The reach for the transcendental moment - fleeting. This set against Error and ignorance which are a kind of Hell but the worst are those who knowingly and willingly perpetuate the error system at the cost of Knowledge. Despite stylistic differences there is something Blakean in there.
jenks
thread death
Every so often I get a bit bogged down - ones where they are verbatim extracts from some American President’s memoirs. But then one appears like the sun from behind a cloud and it sparkles and shimmers - it insists to be read aloud. I must admit that so far the American stuff hasn’t been as effective as the Renaissance references but maybe I haven’t synced to his rhythm yet for this section.
jenks
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Cheers I will be checking these out.
jenks
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No - I think the edition is from about 1971/2 all b&b pics.
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I thought mine might have been a cheap reprint, but I guess they were always in b/w.
jenks
thread death
I am really enjoying the Kenner book. Was it written as one thing or a collection of essays? I like the way he has such a playful way of writing. I read Sinking Island and that was quite straight but this is more flighty - somehow matching the tone of those he’s writing about.
Also I think the approach is interesting - very much influenced by Empson and before ‘Continental post modernist’ criticism arrives over here. It’s very much about the readers relationship to the text and the hard focus on language, sound and sense is particularly engaging.
I like the way that each chapter is another swerve - the reading of Eveline (a story I’ve taught for years) opens it up in a new way, the scrappy nature of Sappho chapter is genuinely illuminating and the chapter I’m reading now on etymology (something I’ve also taught for my whole career) clarified something about how to read Pound for me.
Also I think the approach is interesting - very much influenced by Empson and before ‘Continental post modernist’ criticism arrives over here. It’s very much about the readers relationship to the text and the hard focus on language, sound and sense is particularly engaging.
I like the way that each chapter is another swerve - the reading of Eveline (a story I’ve taught for years) opens it up in a new way, the scrappy nature of Sappho chapter is genuinely illuminating and the chapter I’m reading now on etymology (something I’ve also taught for my whole career) clarified something about how to read Pound for me.