Pound, Ezra Loomis (1885–1972)

US poet Ezra Pound.

US poet and cultural critic. He is regarded as one of the most important figures of 20th-century literature, and his work revolutionized modern poetry. His Personae and Exultations (1909) established and promoted the principles of Imagism, and influenced numerous poets, including T S Eliot. His largest work was his series of Cantos (1925–69), a highly complex, eclectic collage that sought to create a unifying, modern cultural tradition.

Born in Idaho, Pound was educated at Pennsylvania University and settled in Europe from 1907. He lived in London 1909–21 and then moved to Paris 1921–25, where he became a friend of the writers Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway. He then settled in Rapallo, Italy. His anti-Semitism and sympathy with the fascist dictator Mussolini led him to broadcast from Italy in World War II, and he was arrested by US troops in 1945. Found unfit to stand trial, he was confined in a mental hospital until 1958.

Pound's knowledge of medieval literature was profound; his early works, including Lustra (1916), show the results of his studies. His first completely modern poem was ‘Hugh Selwyn Mauberley’ (1920). He also wrote versions of Old English, Provençal, Chinese, ancient Egyptian, and other verse. Among his prose writings are Indiscretions (1923), and Imaginary Letters (1930).