Readings in the Cantos

This project offers readings of selected individual Cantos from The Cantos of Ezra Pound, provided by renowned Poundians. It is designed to be useful for those new to Pound’s epic modernist poem, with each “reading” providing a clear, detailed explanation of Pound’s often complicated poetics and fields of reference.

The project will form the most complete resource on The Cantos since Carroll F. Terrell’s A Companion to the Cantos of Ezra Pound, adding developed prose readings to the source-hunting of Terrell’s project. As well as guiding the new reader, these essays also offer individual and often original approaches to the poetry in question, providing a wealth of critical material for those already familiar with The Cantos and pursuing the works of Pound in more depth.

The variety in approaches and reading methods displayed here offers numerous strategies for readers of Pound and for readers of modernism in general.

This is the third volume of three, and describes 21 Cantos in 20 essays, focusing on work published between 1956 and 1969. The first volume addresses work published between 1917 and 1934, while the second looks at Cantos published between 1937 and 1948.