A Literary Criticism of Ezra Pound, Written by Sister Bernetta Quinn
This post originally appreared on my old blog, Bridget Eileen's Commonplace Book.A while ago, I borrowed the Ezra Pound biography by Sister Bernetta Quinn from the library. I didn't want to keep reneing yet I didn't have the time to finish it. So instead, I purchased my own copy, which I recently picked up after a 1/4 of the way through hiatus.
Here's a quote I read the other day:
"Taking as a model Pound's own 'A Few Don'ts for Imagistes' one might draw up 'A Few Do's for Critics' from its pages
1. Weed out famous but inconsequential writing in order to concentrate on the classics, which never fail to have 'a certain and irrepressible freshness.'
2. In the spirit of Agassiz, read and compare.
3. Make personal documented statements, in line with the meaning of criticize ('to pick out for oneself').
4. Learn to distinguish between 'inventors' and 'masters'.
5. Ground your taste in a thorough knowledge of the best poems, beginning with the oldest in each genre, for example 'The Seafarer.' where English poetry starts.
...Climbing Parnassus requires an apprenticeship in taste to 'the singing masters of the soul' who have gone before..." p. 43
You can purchase a copy of this unique piece of literary criticism on any used book store site. My particular favorite is Better World Books.
https://www.betterworldbooks.com/search/results?q=ezra%20pound%20quinn