There are two Ezra Pound's:
1) American Poet
2) Emo/punk band from Ma… Read Full Bio ↴There are two Ezra Pound's:
1) American Poet
2) Emo/punk band from Madison, WI with members going on to form Rainer Maria
1) Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (October 30, 1885 – November 1, 1972) was an American expatriate, poet, musician and critic who, along with T.S. Eliot, was a major figure of the modernist movement in early 20th century poetry. He was the driving force behind several modernist movements, notably Imagism and Vorticism. The critic Hugh Kenner said on meeting Pound: "I suddenly knew that I was in the presence of the center of modernism."
Because of his political views, especially his support of Mussolini and his anti-Semitism, Pound continues to attract much criticism. While it is almost impossible to ignore the vital role he played in the modernist revolution in 20th century literature in English, Pound's perceived importance has varied over the years. The location of Pound -- as opposed to other writers such as T.S. Eliot -- at the center of the Anglo-American Modernist tradition was famously asserted by the critic Hugh Kenner, most fully in his account of the Modernist movement titled The Pound Era. The critic Marjorie Perloff has also insisted upon the centrality of Pound to numerous traditions of "experimental" poetry in the 20th century.
As a poet, Pound was one of the first to successfully employ free verse in extended compositions. His Imagist poems influenced, among others, the Objectivists and The Cantos were a touchstone for Allen Ginsberg and other Beat poets. Almost every 'experimental' poet in English since the early 20th century has been considered by some to be in his debt.
1) American Poet
2) Emo/punk band from Ma… Read Full Bio ↴There are two Ezra Pound's:
1) American Poet
2) Emo/punk band from Madison, WI with members going on to form Rainer Maria
1) Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (October 30, 1885 – November 1, 1972) was an American expatriate, poet, musician and critic who, along with T.S. Eliot, was a major figure of the modernist movement in early 20th century poetry. He was the driving force behind several modernist movements, notably Imagism and Vorticism. The critic Hugh Kenner said on meeting Pound: "I suddenly knew that I was in the presence of the center of modernism."
Because of his political views, especially his support of Mussolini and his anti-Semitism, Pound continues to attract much criticism. While it is almost impossible to ignore the vital role he played in the modernist revolution in 20th century literature in English, Pound's perceived importance has varied over the years. The location of Pound -- as opposed to other writers such as T.S. Eliot -- at the center of the Anglo-American Modernist tradition was famously asserted by the critic Hugh Kenner, most fully in his account of the Modernist movement titled The Pound Era. The critic Marjorie Perloff has also insisted upon the centrality of Pound to numerous traditions of "experimental" poetry in the 20th century.
As a poet, Pound was one of the first to successfully employ free verse in extended compositions. His Imagist poems influenced, among others, the Objectivists and The Cantos were a touchstone for Allen Ginsberg and other Beat poets. Almost every 'experimental' poet in English since the early 20th century has been considered by some to be in his debt.
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Canto XLV
Ezra Pound Lyrics
No lyrics text found for this track.
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
Ruan R. Rosa
Canto XLV
BY EZRA POUND
With Usura
With usura hath no man a house of good stone
each block cut smooth and well fitting
that design might cover their face,
with usura
hath no man a painted paradise on his church wall
harpes et luz
or where virgin receiveth message
and halo projects from incision,
with usura
seeth no man Gonzaga his heirs and his concubines
no picture is made to endure nor to live with
but it is made to sell and sell quickly
with usura, sin against nature,
is thy bread ever more of stale rags
is thy bread dry as paper,
with no mountain wheat, no strong flour
with usura the line grows thick
with usura is no clear demarcation
and no man can find site for his dwelling.
Stonecutter is kept from his tone
weaver is kept from his loom
WITH USURA
wool comes not to market
sheep bringeth no gain with usura
Usura is a murrain, usura
blunteth the needle in the maid’s hand
and stoppeth the spinner’s cunning. Pietro Lombardo
came not by usura
Duccio came not by usura
nor Pier della Francesca; Zuan Bellin’ not by usura
nor was ‘La Calunnia’ painted.
Came not by usura Angelico; came not Ambrogio Praedis,
Came no church of cut stone signed: Adamo me fecit.
Not by usura St. Trophime
Not by usura Saint Hilaire,
Usura rusteth the chisel
It rusteth the craft and the craftsman
It gnaweth the thread in the loom
None learneth to weave gold in her pattern;
Azure hath a canker by usura; cramoisi is unbroidered
Emerald findeth no Memling
Usura slayeth the child in the womb
It stayeth the young man’s courting
It hath brought palsey to bed, lyeth
between the young bride and her bridegroom
CONTRA NATURAM
They have brought whores for Eleusis
Corpses are set to banquet
at behest of usura.
N.B. Usury: A charge for the use of purchasing power, levied without regard to production; often without regard to the possibilities of production. (Hence the failure of the Medici bank.)
Ezra Pound, "Canto XLV " from The Cantos of Ezra Pound. Copyright © 1993 by Ezra Pound. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corporation.
Source: Cantos of Ezra Pound (New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1993)
Carlos Manuel López Ramos
The greatest poet of the 20th Century.
Sebastián Sosa Cameron
Estoy de acuerdo con usted, el siglo XX ha dado poetas enormes a Occidente, por lo menos en las lenguas con más tradición poética: alemán, francés, español, italiano, inglés, ruso, griego, portugués. Nadie que aprecie la poesía, pasará por el siglo XX sin leerlo a Pound.
Hudson Bailey
Dear Mr. Ramos, please include me in the accolade of the electrical eloquence and writing of this haunting, mused poet called EZRA. Thank you.
Natalia Ronca
He is also for me ❤️
bannor216
what is this? he's universally regarded in all of academic literary circles as one of the greatest poets of all time.
Carlos Manuel López Ramos
@bannor216 And who is saying otherwise? He has been one of my favorite poets for many years. I have translated it into Spanish in specialized literature magazines. What are you talking about?
Comprehensiveboy Comprehensiveboy
If I worked in finance telesales with my luck I would get people like this on the phone. Seriously it's a great poem.
Gerson Maia
Obrigado augusto de campos por nos proporcionar conhecer grandes poetas, e suas traduções.
Severino Saltarelli
Ezra Pound: great great poet !!! "With usura..."
Bryan Mc
sometimes there's a man...I won't say hero, because what's a hero? but sometimes there's a man, well he's the man for his time and place. he fits right in there...