Who was Ezra Pound, how should we read the poetry?
Disclaimer — this is not an attempt at anserind jd’s question. Pound was very well read, but do we know that he was well read in economics? Or that if ye picked up the books, he ever let the central message filter into his thinking? I take DD’s premise, Pound as economist, as mostly for the fun of it. My impression is that Pound’s views were driven largely by his preferences for the type of society he would like to live in, rather than a firm grasp of economic principles. Vast reading in the classics and church fathers taught him to oppose usury. Church fathers and who knows what else taught him to dislike Jews. His poetry suggests a fondness for an earlier time (and if that time never existed, he is still not alone). Am I the only one who has the impression that Pound (outside the craft of poetry, where his reputation is deserved) was a man of strong opinions, not of ideas? If so, then I don’t want to see a Voltaire/Pound tussle. Satisfying as it is to see your guy whip the other guy
