Pounds,(Wayne,!A!Dash!of!Barbarism:!Ezra!Pound!and!Gino!Saviotti!in!the!Indice,!1930A

31,"Academia.edu"

"

From"1930,"the"year"of"Pound’s"first"contributions"to"an"Italian"review,"until"his"capture"

as" the"War"ended" in"May"1945,"Pound"was"an" increasingly"active" contributor" to" the"

Italian"periodical"press."The"term"“war”"should"appear"in"bold"gothic"in"this"statement,"

because"this"period"is"not"only"one"of"domestic"violence"in"Italy"it"coincides"very"nearly"

with" the" second" world" war," which" from" a" global" rather" than" a" EuroJcentered"

perspective" should" be" seen" as" igniting" at" least" as" early" as" the" 1931" Manchurian"

Incident"from"which"historians"now"date"the"Pacific"War."It"is"also"a"period"of"violence"

in" Italy," one" which" had" begun" much" earlier" and" whose" manifestation" among"

intellectuals"and"artists"was"a"war"of"words"carried"on"in"the"reviews"of"literature"and"

the" arts" with" a" passion" and" acrimony" that" popularized" the" word," stroncatura" or"

"hatchet" job,"" to" describe" the" hostile" review" bent" on" destroying" the" author’s"

credibility."This"violence"of"language"is"reflected"in"Pound's"wrtiting"of"the"period,"but"

it" should" be" understood" as" a" period" style" rather" than" a" personal" abberation." The"

literary" polemics" were" never" purely" literary" (supposing" such" a" thing" possible)" but"

always" directly" involved" with" social" and" political" issues." The" social" issues" reflected"

constricting" economic" realities" as" the" Depression" in" the" U.S." reached" Italy," and" the"

rapid" changes" that" followed" national" unification" made" the" position" of" intellectuals"

increasing" difficult." Once" a" privileged," economically" independent" caste," the"

intellectuals" gradually" became" salaried" workers," employed" for" the" most" part" in"

education,"or"in"the"nascent"cultural" industry."In"other"words,"the"democratisation"of"

culture"widened" the" ranks" of" the" literate" and" educated," creating" intellectual" groups"

that" had" to" compete" for" recognition." ." ." ." Unlike" their" predecessors," they" had" no"

predetermined"role"to"play"in"the"fashioning"of"society,"no"channels"of"social"mobility"

which" would" guarantee" success" in" the" real" world." The" government," moreover," was"

regarded"as"promoting"solely"the"interest"of"Big"Business"and"the"urban"proletariat"at"

the" expense" of" the" middle" and" lowerJmiddle" class" of" society." As" a" result" the"

intellectuals" felt" displaced" to" the"margins" of" the" social" system." Bereft" of" traditional"

privileges"and"having"no"collective"mandate"to"further,"they"became"increasing"more"

politicised"."."."(Brand"and"Pertile"493J94)"Such,"in"general"terms,"was"the"background"

of"the"years"during"which"Pound"wrote"for"the"Indice"of"Genova"and"its"continuation"in"

the" Supplemento" letterario" of" the" Rapallo" paper" Il" Mare," and" collaborated" (in" the"

neutral"sense)"with" its"editor"Gino"Saviotti,"whose"threeJyears" in"harness"with"Pound"

were" the" most" productive" of" the" latter’s" journalistic" career," and" whose" association"

with"Pound"was"the"closest"among"all"the"latter’s"long"list"of"literary"acquaintances"in"

Italy."Pound’s"Italian"publications"began"in"the"Indice,"February"30,"1930"and"continued"

there"until" the" Indice" folded" in"December"of" the"next"year," to"be"continued"within"a"

few"months"in"the"Literary"Supplement"to"the"Mare."A"count"of"the"Italian"publications"

in"Gallup" reveals" a"pattern"of" increasing"activity."Upon" first" establishing" residence" in"

Rapallo"in"1925,"Pound’s"journalistic"publications"are"relatively"few,"in"accord"with"his"

declared" intention" to"get"away" from"the"hectic" literary" scene" in"Paris" to"work"on"his"

poem."The"totals"for"the"Rapallo"years"of"this"decade"are:"1925,"9;"1926,"3;"1927,"11;"

1928,"32;"and"1929,"22."None"of"these"figures"includes"an"Italian"publication."In"1930,"

when" he" began" writing" for" his" first" Italian" outlet," the" GenovaJbased" L’Indice," he"

published"29"items."After"that,"as"he"continued"to"publish"in"Rapallo’s"The"Mare"and"its"

Supplement,"the"figures"rise"dramatically:"1931,"46;"1932,61;"1933,"97;"1934,"125;"and"

1935,"149."The"curve"drops"from"1936"to"1938:"107,"42,"58;"then"rises"again"in"1939"to"

96"and"in"1940"to"152,"where"it"remains"at"an"uneven"plateau."Since"these"figures"do"

not" include" books" or" radio" broadcasts" or" the" one" thousand" letters" he" averaged" per"

year," one" begins" to" understand" the" fatigue" revealed" in" the" portraits" and" photos" of"

those"years"and"commented"on"by"friends"and"family."With"the"publication"of"the"ten"

volumes"of"Ezra"Pound’s"Poetry"&"Prose"Contributions"to"Periodicals"in"1991,"almost"all"

of" these" contributions" have" been" made" available" for" scholarship." Given" Pound’s"

distaste"for"explaining"himself,"however,"and"the"fact"that"many"of"the"shorter"items,"

such" as" letters" to" the" editor," require" a" context" to"make" them" intelligible," there" is" a"

great"deal" in" these" volumes" that" remains" cryptic" if" not"dead"on" the"page."What," for"

example," are"we" to"make"of" a" 1936" letter" to"Contemporary"Poetry" and"Prose" called"

“The" Coward" Surrealists”"which" berates" unnamed" surrealist"writers" for" not" knowing"

their"ancestors?"What"ancestors?"Who" is"a" “coward”"and"why?"The"answers"are"not"

found"or"even" implied" in" the" text"of" the"article,"nor" can" they"be"more" than"partially"

determined"by"drawing"on"Pound’s"other"writings"of" the"period"(his"usual"critique"of"

postJ1914"avantJgardes)" or"his" borrowing"of" the" Fascist" rhetoric" of" courage." The" full"

answer" requires" a" knowledge" of" the" contents" of" previous" issues" of" the" review" in"

question." Studies" of" Poundian" thematics" we" have" in" good" plenty," but" of"

contextualizations"of"the"periodicals"he"wrote"for"between"1930"and"1945,"very"few."

Here"some"recent"Italian"scholarship"comes"to"our"aid"with"useful"studies"of"two"of"the"

four" principal" Italian" publications" for" which" Pound" wrote" in" these" years—L’Indice,"

1930J31;"Il"Mare,"1932J39;"Il"Meridiano"di"Roma,"1938J43;"and"Il"Popolo"di"Alessandria,"

1943J45."Pound"was"merely"a"contributor"to"the"Mare,"the"Meridiano,"and"the"Popolo,"

but"when"the"first"of"these"began"its"literary"supplement"in"1932,"he"was"the"coJeditor"

in" charge" of" foreign" literature," in" tandem"with" Gino" Saviotti," who" was" in" charge" of"

Italian" literature." This" de" facto" coJeditorship" suggests" that" the" Supplement" is" a"

publication"that"will"reward"close"study,"but"Pound’s"editorial"role"at"the"Supplement"

began" earlier," in" his" work" with" Saviotti" on" the" Indice," where" his" presence" became"

increasingly" important." The" Supplement" is" the"direct" continuation"of" the" Indice," and"

thus"the"latter"provides"the"logical"place"to"begin"a"study"of"Pound’s"involvement"with"

the"Italian"periodical"press."

( (

1.(The(Principal(Periodicals(

The" Indice," a" fortnightly" literary" review" published" at" Genova" and" edited" by" Gino"

Saviotti," ran" from" January" 1930" to" December" 1931." It" began" as" a" continuation" of"

Pagine"critiche,"a"similar"review"founded"and"run"by"Saviotti"from"1922"to"1926"(with"

interruptions)." In" January"of"1931,"due" to" financial"difficulties," the" Indice" changed" to"

monthly" publication." Although" it" was" a" literary" review," in" the" first" decades" of" the"

century,"it"was"very"difficult"to"draw"a"line"between"literature"and"politics,"and"indeed"

it"was"argued"that"none"should"be."Under"the"editorship"of"Saviotti,"who"had"matured"

in"this"ambience,"the"Indice"engaged"in"its"own"fair"share"of"the"polemics,"though"the"

presence" of" Pound," who" had" no" interest" in" Italian" literary" factionalism," acted" as" a"

counterJbalance." The" cultural" history" of" the" Indice" has" been" documented" by" Laura"

Barile" in" an" article" useful" for" its" detailed" depiction" of" the"war" of" the" reviews." Barile"

does"not"reproduce"texts,"but"she"does"provide"a"complete"index"for"the"whole"run"of"

the" review," to"which" Pound" contributed" twentyJsix" substantial" items,"most" of" them"

under"the"rubric"Appunti"(Notes)."

Of"the"four"principle"Italian"publications"for"which"Pound"wrote"during"the"war,"Il"Mare"

and" Il" popolo"di"Alessandria"have"as" yet" to" receive" scrutiny,"due" in" large"part" to" the"

difficulty" of" accessing" the" back" issues." In" the" case" of" a" significant" part" of" the"Mare,"

however," this"difficulty"no" longer"holds," for" in"early"1999"the"Municipality"of"Rapallo"

issued" Il"Mare:" supplemento" letterario" 1932J33," containing" the" complete" run" of" the"

Supplement."Pound"began"writing" for" the"Mare" in"August"1932"with" the" start"of" the"

Supplement,"and"after"the"latter’s"demise"as"a"separately"numbered"volume"in"March"

1933"he"continued"writing"in"the"“Pagina"letteraria”"for"a"few"months."Thereafter,"his"

contributions"were"brief"and"focused"on"music,"and"for"some"years"now"many"of"these"

pieces" have" been" available" in" English" translation" in" Ezra" Pound" and"Music." Pound’s"

articles"from"Il"Meridiano"di"Roma,"where"he"published"several"articles"a"year"between"

1938"and"1943,"have"been"edited" in" two"bookJlength"anthologies,"one"collecting" the"

economic" essays," the"other" the" literaryJcultural" essays." In" terms"of" national" prestige"

and"readership,"The"Meridiano"was"the"most"significant"of"the"Italian"reviews"for"which"

Pound"wrote," contributing" some"ninety" articles," letters," and" brief" notes," but" despite"

being"prominently"featured"on"page"one,"Pound’s"work"may"have"been"printed"in"part"

as"a"sport"or"spectacle."This"is"the"view"of"the"editor"of"the"most"recent"anthology"of"

the"Meridiano,"who"bases"her" inference"on" the" lack"of"any" reader" response"and" the"

editors’"policy"of"allowing"Pound’s"idiosyncratic"Italian"to"stand"unrevised"(Ricciardi"xJ

xi;" cf." Zapponi" 66)." In" addition," following" chronology," note" should" be"made" here" of"

Prospettive,"a" review"which"began"as"a" conveyer"of"Fascist" youth"propaganda"but" in"

1939"acquired"vitality"under"a"new"editor,"Curzio"Malaparte,"and"functioned"until"the"

review’s"demise"in"1943"as"an"open"forum"for"discussion"of"the"European"avantJgarde."

Pound’s" contributions"were" few"and"brief,"of" little" importance" to" the"general" reader"

but"of"marked" interest" for" the" specialist"who"wants" to"understand" the"Pound"of" the"

war"years,"for"Perspettive"was"a"journal"of"substantial"cultural"weight;"and"Malaparte,"

a"writer"of"considerable"accomplishment,"was"an"acquaintance"of"Pound,"who"speaks"

well"of"his"work"(“the"best"fancy"writer"here"is"Malaparte,”"he"wrote"Wyndam"Lewis"in"

1940" [217])." The" importance"of"Perspettive" is" signaled"by" the" fact" that"we"have"had"

two" anthologies" drawn" from" it," each" providing" editorial" apparatus" and" reproducing"

important"essays,"one"devoted"entirely"to"Perspettive"(Viazzi),"the"other"devoting"half"

its" pages" to" Perspettive’s" conservative" counterJpart," Primato" (Pilato)," edited" by"

Giuseppe"Bottai."It"is"important"to"know"that"Pound"was"reading"this"journal"between"

1939"and"1943."The"last"of"the"principal"Italian"publications"Pound"wrote"for,"Il"Popolo"

di"Alessandria,"may"be" least" in"terms"of"the" literary" interest"of"his"articles"but"first" in"

terms" of" their" number" and" continuity." Published" biweekly" by" the" Federation" of" the"

Fascist" Republic" of" Salò," it" first" appeared" on" the" newsstands" Oct." 2," 1943," and"

continued" until" April" 19," 1945," for" a" total" of" 114" issues." Edited" by" Gian" Gaetano"

Cabella," the"twoJpage"newssheet" relied"on" invective"and"sarcasm,"speaking" from"the"

viewpoint" of" a" rediscovered" “fascism" of" the" first" hour”" rooted" in" anticommunist,"

antimonarchical," antiJCatholic," and" antiJSemitic" convictions." Initially" printed" at"

Alessandria,"then"at"Milan,"it"is"said"to"have"reached"a"sales/circulation"of"200,000."Its"

style"alternated"attacks"with"popular"appeals,"mixing"vignettes,"anecdotes,"sobriquets"

and" difficult" disquisitions" on" economics" and" money" (Crespi" 31)." Stock" writes" that"

Pound’s" last"contribution"was"March"8th,"but"Gallup"gives" the"date"as"March"29"and"

records"a"final"contribution—to"the"Idea"Sociale,"also"of"Alessandria—on"April"9th."The"

most" recent" archival" investigation"has" found"an"unpublished"article"dated"April" 19th"

(Crespi"31),"less"than"two"weeks"before"Pound’s"arrest."April"1945"then"marks"the"end"

of"the"Italian"phase"of"his"periodical"contributions,"a"fifteen"year"career"that"began"in"

1930"when" he" asked" the" critic" Carlo" Linati," one" of" his" first" literary" acquaintances" in"

Italy," to" introduce" him" to" Gino" Saviotti" (Strulato" 29J30)," editor" of" the" fortnightly"

Genova"literary"review"the"Indice."

" "

2.(Saviotti(and(L’Indice"

Gino"Saviotti"was"a"well"known"figure"in"the"world"of"the"Italian"literary"reviews"of"the"

thirties"and"forties,"but"after"1939,"when"he"moved"permanently"to"Portugal,"he"began"

to" pass" from"men’s"memories," at" least" in" Italy." He"was" born" in" Arpino" in" 1893" to" a"

family"of"marked"Mazzinian"and"anarchoJGaribaldian"tendency,"traces"of"which"remain"

visible"throughout"his"career"in"acts"of"stubborn"independence."As"a"university"student"

at" Pisa" before" the"War," Saviotti" resigned" his" scholarship" rather" than" put" up" with" a"

restrictive"schedule,"and"supported"himself"by"publishing"a"literary"review"of"which"he"

was" editor," writer," graphic" artist," and" layout" man." As" a" young" man" he" had" been"

interested"first" in"theater," then" in"poetry" (among"the" Italians,"Petrarch"and"Leopardi;"

outside" Italy," Poe," Baudelaire," and"Wilde)," and" had" like"many" of" his" contemporaries"

developed"an"aesthetic"view"of"life."Saviotti"was"cured"of"his"aestheticism,"however,"by"

World"War" I" JJas"was," arguably," Pound."Unlike" Pound," however," he" experienced" the"

war"at"first"hand,"eyeJdeep"in"the"hell"of"the"trenches."Wounded"and"hospitalized,"he"

encountered" his" former" classmate" Luigi" Russo" (later" a" prominent" leftist" critic)," who"

invited"him"along"on"his"weekly"visits"to"Croce’s"house."In"1916"Saviotti"had"published"a"

book"of"verses"Il"gioco"delle"rime"(1916),"but"encouraged"by"Croce,"he"gave"up"verse"

and"began"writing"an" independent"critical"column"“Opuscoli"critici.”"As"early"as"1920"

he" was" writing" against" the" charlantary" of" D’Annunzio," whose" style" was" at" this" very"

moment" was" being" studied" by" Mussolini" and" two" years" later" would" flower" in" the"

March" on" Rome," marking" Year" One" of" the" Fascist" Era." In" 1920" Saviotti" returned" to"

civilized" life" and" began" the" literary" review" Pagine" critiche," which" he" directed" from"

Parma"beginning"in"December"1921,"then"moving"to"Genova"in"1922."During"his"Parma"

years,"Saviotti"had"become"close"friends"with"the"important"playwright"Ugo"Betti,"and"

Saviotti"himself"wrote"a"light"comedy."(He"would"return"to"writing"and"producing"plays"

in"his"later"career"in"Portugal.)"Not"only"a"writer"of"comic"plays,"Saviotti"was"known"for"

his"caricatures,"both"indications"of"a"sense"of"humor"not"readily"associated"with"forms"

of"rigid"orthodoxy." Indeed"the" Indice,"as"a"balance"to" its"polemics," regularly" included"

humorous" cartoons" about" the" literary" life" and" its" polemics." After" the" Supplement"

ended"in"1933,"Saviotti"resumed"writing"fiction,"his"vocation"as"a"narrator"reawakened"

perhaps," as" Strulato" suggests" (35)," by" the" three" years" he" had" worked" with" Pound."

Whatever" the" inspiration," the" result" was" successful." Mezzo" matto" (1934)," a" novel"

showing"modernist"narrative"technique,"won"the"Viareggio"prize,"and"two"years"later"Il"

fratello"won"the"Fusinato."The"novels"have"since"been"forgotten,"though"some"critics"

think" they" deserve" reJevaluation." Saviotti" then" seems" to" have" spent" a" few" years"

occupied" with" other" kinds" of" writing." Pound" in" July" 1936" described" him" as" having"

“summarized" Croce”" and" “written" a" history" of" Italian" Literature" in" Seven" volumes"

which" is" said" to" have" disturbed" the" curricula”" (C1344)." In" 1939" he" assumed" the"

directorship"of" the" Institute"of" Italian"Culture" in" Lisbon,"where"he" remained"until"his"

death."There"Saviotti’s"creative"bent"returned"to"theater,"and"he"seems"to"have"been"

the" center" of" a" poundian" vortex" in" which" he" functioned" “as" author," promoter," art"

director," producer," critic," and" teacher," discovering" fresh" talent" and" bringing" to" light"

new" works."" Strulato" argues" that" Saviotti’s" position" in" Portugal" under" the" Salazar"

regime"gave"him"the"opportunity"to"use"art"as"a"means"to"defy"the"limits"imposed"by"a"

“backward" cultural" climate”" and" “oppressive" censure.”" Taking" advantage" of" the" free"

zone"allowed"to"the"Institute"of"Italian"Culture,"evidence"suggests,"Saviotti"put"his"ideas"

into"action."To"describe"these" ideas," in"particular"his"aesthetic"and"editorial"stance" in"

the"1920s,"requires"first"a"consideration"of"what"Saviotti"may"have"taken"from"Croce,"

who"looms"so"large"in"his"early"life."The"most"important"influence"from"the"twentiethJ

century"Cicero","as"he"was"known"in"his"day"(Wellek"187),"seems"to"have"been"a"moral"

one."Saviotti,"in"a"1973"letter"looking"back"at"his"early"career,"says"Croce"was"the"one"

who" “gave" a" serious" bent" to" my" mind," without" diminishing" my" passion," making"

concrete"all" of"my" culture," and"helping" to"mature"my" thinking,"which"until" then"had"

been"turned"rather"toward"artistic"creation."He" instilled" in"me"the"beneficial"habit"of"

examining"my" conscience," not"without" a" certain" amount" of" blushing.""What" Saviotti"

took" from"Croce," in" Strulato’s" summary,"was" the" ideal" of" “art" as" liberty" and" sincere"

testimony.”""This"basic"moral"stance"is"important"to"recognize,"because"at"the"level"of"

rhetoric" (or" as" Pound" calls" it," searching" for" a" more" neutral" term," “verbal"

manifestation”—cf." ABC"87)" it" is" easily"misunderstood." Saviotti’s" emphasis" on" clarity"

and" honesty," like" his" opposition" to" decorative" language," echoes" the" rhetoric" of" the"

regime,"but"this"hardly"makes"him"a"Fascist"anymore"than"on"that"basis"alone"it"would"

make"Pound"one."In"the"latter’s"case,"we"can"easily"point"to"the"sources"of"his"dislike"of"

rhetoric" and" “fustian”" in" the" successive" phases" of" his" protestant" upbringing," his"

imagistJvorticist" experience," and" his" study" of" Confucian" morality." Perhaps" Saviotti"

makes"it"harder"to"see"his"sources"because"he"repeats"certain"terms"which"were"also"

current" in" the" regime’s" official" vocabulary" (e.g.," risanamento" “recovery" of" health,”"

restaurazione"di"valore"“restoration"of"values”JJthe"rhetoric"of"health"and"vigor,"which"

Pound" also" employs)," but" this"we" can" understand" as" the" survival" strategy" of" a"man"

whose" career" as" a" publisher," begun" in" the" year" of" the" March" on" Rome," was"

characterized"early"and" late"by" friction"with" the" regime"and"yet"continued" for"nearly"

two" decades." His" first" independent" venture," Pagine" Critiche" at" Parma," had" included"

antifascists"among"its"financers"(Strulato"16n.11),"and"in"1926"it"was"shut"down"by"the"

regime" when" an" official" investigation" disclosed" “compromising" material.”" Nothing"

dismayed,"it"would"seem,"the"next"month"Saviotti"began"a"new"review"with"the"same"

editorial" policies" but" under" a" different" title." In" a" spirit" of" what" seems" more" like"

mockery" than"accomodation," it"was"now"calledJJRipresa." In" the" late" twenties"Saviotti"

collaborated" on" the" shortJlived" Il" baretti" of" Torino," a" review" of" notable" antiJFascist"

tendency."Still" later"the"prefecture"of"Milan"opposed"the"publication"of"Mezzo"matto"

(1934)"because" its" title" “stank”"of" an"allusion" to" the"Duce." (Strulato" comments," “the"

Pagine" critiche" episode" still" weighed" against" him.”)" And," as" Saviotti" relates" in" his"

Ricordo" di" Pirandello" (1967)," the" production" of" his" comedy" Cocorita"was" suspended"

because" the" regime" found" it" inappropriate" that" its" protagonist" fell" in" love" with" “a"

woman" of" color.”" Given" this" history" of" friction" with" the" authorities" and" the" activist"

direction" of" his" later" career" in" Lisbon," it" seems" unlikely" that" Saviotti’s" occasional"

appeals" to" traditional" values" show" Fascist" sympathies;" rather," when" they" are" not"

protective" camouflage," they" should" be" seen" as" the" legacy" of" a" positive" contact"with"

Croce."To"take"this"as"the"rhetoric"of"Nuova"Italia"rather"than"trace"it"to"its"source," is"

not"only"a"sign" that"Croce"has"been" forgotten" (as"of"course"he"has,"along"with"other"

moral"philosophers)"but"has"all"the"earmarks"of"Croce’s"longJtime"foe,"a"programmatic"

marxism."No"one"could"have"been"further"from"the"regime"than"Croce,"who"openly"and"

courageously" criticized" it," publishing" a" counterJmanifesto" to" the" 1925" Congress" of"

Fascist" Intellectuals’" famous"manifesto," and" in" his"works" he" criticized" Fascism"as" the"

chief" instance" of"modern" decadence" (Nuove" pagine" sparse" 116;" La" letteratura" della"

Nuova"Italia"188J89)."The"regime"never"laid"a"hand"on"him."As""De"Gaulle"replied"when"

his"advisors"wanted"to"jail"Sartre"in"1968,"“On"ne"touche"pas"Voltaire.”"Two"additional"

elements"of"Saviotti’s"stance"as"an"editor"should"be"noted,"and"without"getting"into"the"

complexity" of" group" affiliations," rivalries," and" rankings" of" authors," we" might" for" a"

moment" arbitrarily" distinguish" between" an" aesthetic" issue" and" a" practical" one." The"

basic"position"of"Croce"was"that"art"is"intuition."Since"intuition"for"Croce"always"is"one"

with"expression,"in"a"single"internal"process," it"follows"that"there"exists"no"distinction"

between"form"and"content"(Croce,"Nuovi"saggi"34),"a"position"frequently"repeated" in"

Saviotti’s" Indice" columns." It"may"be" this" thesis"which"underlies" Saviotti’s" concern" for"

popular"fiction"and"his"arguments"against" intellectuals"whom"he"accuses"of"snobbery"

and"prejudice"against"the"mass"(a"concern"he"shared"with"Gramsci" [58])."Like"Pound,"

he" calls" this" elitism" “snobbery”" (though"Pound,"whom"Olson" called" “the" snob"of" the"

West,”" did" not" share" his" colleague’s" concern" for" popular" literature)" and" identifies" it"

with"aestheticism,"the"condemnation"of"which"he"shares"with"Croce."The"inseparability"

of" form"and" content"might" seem"a"mere" truism,"but" it" has" a" galvanic" corollary:" that"

overemphasis"on"form"or"style"is"an"eltism,"an"outmoded"aestheticism"or"decadence,"

that" perpetuates" an"unhealthy" separation"between"high" literature" and"what" Saviotti"

calls" “applied" literature”"or" “literature"directed"at" the"vast"public.”" “I"don’t"deny" the"

necessity" of" a" ‘style’,”" he"writes," “and," to" a" certain" point," the" utility" of" a" distinction"

between"high"and"low"literature,”"but"the"“excessive"refinement”"of"style"keeps"Italian"

literature"from"reentering"the"great"course"of"its"past"and"counting"for"anything"in"the"

modern"world”"(“Parliamo"del"Rinascimento”)."Such"a"distinction"“regards"only"a"part"

of" the" man," the" aesthetic,”" and" art" must" speak" to" “the" whole" man”" (“Totalismo"

artistico,”"Appendix"2)."For"those"who"want"to"see"Saviotti"as"leaning"towards"one"or"

the"other"of"the"two"major"literary"associates"in"his"life,"this"is"a"surprising"position,"for"

in"this"explcit"form"it"represents"neither"Croce"nor"Pound."Its"only"apparent"source"is"

the" Garibaldean" heritage" of" Saviotti’s" family," and" if" it" affiliates" him"with" any" of" the"

major" figures"of"his"age," it" is"with"Gramsci." It"also"demonstrates" that"Saviotti"had"an"

independent"mind,"capable"of"sailing"between"the"Scylla"of"Croce"and"the"Charybdis"of"

Pound"without" shipwreck" or" discipleship." The" question" of" high" and" low" literature" is"

charged"with"polemical"voltage,"for"it"relates"directly"to"the"writer’s"affiliation"with"the"

rival" factions" of" the" literary"world." Repeatedly," from" the" opening" issue," Saviotti" has"

declared" the" Indice" to" be" a" review"which" “judges"works" honestly,"without" honey" or"

bile,"which" does" not" regard" the" author’s" personal" authority" [i.e.," his" affiliations]" but"

only" his" value”" (“Avviso,”" Appendix" 1)." To" establish"whether" Saviotti" lives" up" to" this"

declaration," three" cases" are" important," those" of" Montale," Moravia," and" Ungaretti,"

because"these"three"writers"have"since"acquired"international"readership"and"stature,"

giving"the"nonJspecialist"a"standard"from"which"to"weigh"Saviotti’s"criticism."In"the"first"

two" cases," Saviotti" both" praises" and" condemns." He" praises" Montale’s" command" of"

naturalistic"detail"and"notes"the"passion"that"underlies"his"muchJcommented"aridity"of"

diction,"but"he"rebukes"him"for"an"allegiance"to"the"school"of"Hermeticism"(“Eugenio"

Montale”)." The"case"of"Moravia" is" similar." The" Indifferent" (1929),"his" first"novel,"had"

created"a"stir"by"its"portrait"of"Italian"society"under"Fascism."Saviotti"opens"in"the"spirit"

of"his"declared"intentions:"“Let’s"put"aside"the"controversies"the"book"has"aroused"and"

ask"if" it’s"alive,"a"real"work"of"art.”"He"is"critical"of"Moravia’s"“psychologism”"but"also"

affirms," “We" must" pay" attention" to" him" as" a" writer" gifted" with" an" extraordinarily"

receptive" sensibility," one" for" whom" we" may" foresee" a" future" of" distinguished"

creativity”"(“Alberto"Moravia,”"Nov."1930)."The"case"of"Ungaretti"is"even"more"mixed,"

but"worth"dwelling"on"for"it"is"the"longest"and"most"detailed"of"the"three"reviews,"and"

thus" the"most" important;" it" contains" arguments" that" the" reader" unversed" in" Italian"

literary"polemics"can"evaluate;"and" it" raises" the" issue"of"Saviotti’s" relationship" to" the"

regime."Saviotti"opens"“Giuseppe"Ungaretti”"by"indirectly"evoking"the"issue"of"elitism,"

stating"that"he"hadn’t"read"Il"porto"sepolto"(1916)"earlier"because"it"was"only"available"

in" an" expensive" deluxe" edition." He" has" now" read" Allegria" di" naufragi" (1919)," which"

contains" some" of" the" earlier" poems," and" finds" the" work" insufficient" to" establish"

Ungaretti’s" greatness" or" the" exaggerated" respect" with" which" the" poet" is" regarded."

Then," in"a"move"which"may"raise"eyebrows,"he" introduces" the"preface" to" the"poems"

which"Mussolini"had"written"at"Ungaretti’s" request."Saviotti"quotes"Mussolini,"“those"

who"read"these"pages"will"find"themselves"faced"with"a"profound"example"of"a"poetry"

of" sensibility," torment," and" searching," of" passion" and" of" mystery,”" and" he" then"

comments,"“the"judgment"of"the"Duce"is"very"acute.”"To"the"reader"separated"by"sixty"

years"from"the"atmosphere"of"the"time,"this"may"at"first"glance"seem"like"an"obeisance"

to" power," but" in" Saviotti’s" text" it" is" rather" the" sword" by"which" the" intellect" defends"

itself"against"power—irony."For"what"Saviotti"finds"acute"is"not"in"fact"the"judgement"

of" the" Duce" but" the" terms" he" incidentally" highlights:" sensibility," torment," search,"

mystery."Saviotti" take"these"as"synonyms"for"a"willful"nebulosity"and"a"sure"sign"that"

Ungaretti"belongs","albeit"in"arrears,"to"an"alignment"of"French"poets"like"Rimbaud"and"

Valéry," who," whatever" their" freshness" in" the" past," have" become" stale" cake" in" the"

present." Saviotti" credits" Ungaretti" with" being" an" “adventurous" spirit”" whose" initial"

impulse"was"salutatory,"“to"leap"the"moat"that"defended"the"old"road"and"to"enter"the"

thickets"of"the"new.”"But,"Saviotti"says,"the"thicket"is"not"new"anymore,"and"Ungaretti"

has"built"himself"a"comfortable"hut”"there"and"“shows"no" intention"of" leaving.”"Here"

we"recognize" the"Poundian"tendency" to"acknowledge"the"accomplishments"of"a"past"

avantJgarde" but" criticize" it" for" holding" positions" that" have" become" outmoded."

Saviotti’s"next"move"is"to"focus"on"the"language"of"the"poems,"which"will"take"up"the"

greater"part"of"his" review,"and" the" reader"now"understands" that" the" function"of" the"

quotation" from"the"Duce"was" to"open" the"critique"of" language."What" follows" is" very"

like"a"New"Critical"closeJreading"of"the"poem,"examining"rhythm,"diction"and"imagery."

The"rhythm"he"finds"flat"and"without"exigency,"and"the"diction"often"sentimental"and"

derivative,"but"it"is"in"his"analysis"of"imagery"that"Saviotti"becomes"most"persuasive."He"

cites" the" line"Mi" levigo" come"un’marmo," di" passione" (“I" polish"myself" like" a"marble,"

with"passion”)"and"comments:"“We"all"feel"that"the"vital"accent"falls"on"the"first"part,"

or"rather"on"its"final"substantive,"but"passion"doesn’t"polish."It"cuts,"it"bites,"it"corrodes."

If"Ungaretti"had"seriously"felt"that"he"was"being"consumed,"being"corroded,"he"would"

not"have"thought"of"the"artificial"smoothness"of"marble.”"Specialists"may"disagree"with"

Saviotti’s" final" judgment"of"Ungaretti,"but"to"the"common"reader"the"method"here" is"

reasoned" and"workmanlike." Finally," to" close" this" discussion" of" Saviotti’s" stance," and"

again" avoiding" issues" of" domestic" literary" polemics," two" aspects" of" the" praxis" that"

accompanied" the" esthetics" just" described" are" of" broad" significance" and" particularly"

suggestive"in"the"light"of"what"we"know"of"Pound’s"thinking"in"the"later"thirties"and"the"

forties."I"quoted"Saviotti"as"saying"the"aesthetic"“regards"only"a"part"of"the"man,”"and"

“art"must" speak" to" “the"whole"man.”" Just" as" form" is" not"divisible" from"content," this"

language"implies,"an"artist"or"writer’s"aesthetics,"as"a"form"of"thought,"is"not"divisible"

from" the" content" of" his" or" her" life." Properly" understood," this" is" the" language" of"

commitment," an" eloquent" explication"of"which,"written" in" the" time" and"place"under"

consideration" here," is" provided" by" Saviotti’s" close" friend" Luigi" Russo," a" frequent"

contributor"to"the"Indice."In"the"original"preface"to"In"Praise"of"Polemics"(1933)"Russo"

writes,"Distinct"from"my"1929"Problems"of"Critical"Method"which"gathered"essays"and"

articles"of"a"prevalently"methodological"criticism,"the"present"collection"is"composed"of"

writings" about" culture" and" moral" life" and" reveals" more" openly" that" moral"

temperament"that"I"have"never"managed"to"hide,"not"even"in"the"pages"most"strictly"

literary" and" technical." The" passing" from" the" historical" stage" of" the" pure" litterateur,"

which"I"discuss"in"some"pages"of"this"volume,"has"not"been"for"me"only"an"intellectual"

ambition,"a"theoretical" formula,"but"an"effective"reality."More"than"any"philosophical"

orientation," it" is" the"bitter" experience"of" combat"which"has" given" to" the"men"of"my"

generation" this" vivid" sense" of" the" unity" of" the" mental" life" and" the" moral" life" of"

everyday."(124)The"inference"here"is"simple"but"vital"to"an"understanding"of"the"1930J

45"phase"of"Pound’s"career."When"Pound"tells"the"American"army"in"Genoa"in"1945,"“If"

a"man"isn’t"wiling"to"take"some"risk"for"his"opinions,"either"his"opinions"are"no"good"or"

he’s"no"good","he"is"speaking"a"language"that"Saviotti,"and"many"other"contemporaries,"

would" have" understood," and" one" that" was" at" home" in" the" pages" of" the" Indice." A"

parallel"pragmatic"issue"here"is"pluralism,"the"openness"of"Saviotti"to"nonJItalian"artists"

and" collaborators." Neither" of" the" published" studies" on" the" Indice" provides" any"

indication" as" to" where" its" pluralism" originates." Although" from" the" first" the" review"

carried" a" column" of" notices" of" literature" abroad," “Cronaca" dei" nuovi" libri" italiani" e"

straneiri,”" the"stronger" impetus"must"have"come"from"Pound," the" first"nonJItalian" to"

appear" in" its" pages." The" question" of" the" relationship" of" other" literatures" to" Italian"

literatures"was"part"of" the"polemics"of" the"day," the" two"common"positions"being"an"

exclusionist"nationalism"on"the"one"hand"and,"on" the"other,"an"open"door" to"French"

literature"of"the"past"forty"years."The"position"of"the"Indice,"as"it"gradually"acquires"a"

poundian"alignment," is"distinct"from"either." It" is"open"to"other"national" literatures"so"

long"as"the"offering"is"either"new"or"presents"a"past"that"is"remote"enough"(forty"years"

or" more" distant)" to" be" reJnewed," and" it" is" especially" emphasized" that" the" clique"

(“chapelle”" is"Pound’s"word)"of" La"Nouvelle" revue" francaise"and" its"epigones"are"not"

welcome."The" logic"here" is" that"artists"have"to"be" free"of" their" immediate"ancestors;"

otherwise" their" work"will" be," as" Pound" described" Valéry’s," drawn" from" the" trunk" in"

their" grandmother’s" attic." Once" Pound" is" aboard," the" original" limited" “Cronaca”" is"

supplemented"by"articles"by"Pound,"beginning"with"the"translation"of"How"to"Read."In"

summary,"by"the"time"Saviotti"met"Pound"in"1930,"he"had"acquired"enough"experience"

to" be" a"mature" critic," and" he" had" learned" how" to" keep" his" integrity" as" a"writer" and"

survive" under" oppressive" circumstances." He" had" worked" with" large" dailies" like" La"

Stampa," and" with" significant" reviews" like" Leonardo" and" La" Fiera" Letteraria." From"

February"1930"until" the"demise"of" the" Indice" in"December"1931,"he"will"work"closely"

with"Pound,"and"then"coJedit"with"him"the"Literary"Supplement"of" the"Mare"until" its"

last"number"in"July"of"1933.""

( (

3.(Pound(in(the(Indice(

In" describing" the" contents" of" Pound’s" writing" in" the" Indice" for" these" years," I" leave"

myself"open"to"the"charge"of"redundancy,"for"this"material"has"been"available"in"Ezra"

Pound’s"Poetry"and"Prose"for"some"years."Available,"yes," in"a"sense,"but"much"of"the"

text"is"faded,"the"type"poorly"imprinted,"and"in"almost"every"article"one"or"more"lines"

(usually"where" the"paper"was" folded—the" Indice"was"newspaper" format"and"printed"

on" pulp)" are" as" hard" to" read" as" MobyJDick’s" forehead." Some" examples" are:" the"

editorial" head"note" to"Gallup’s" first" entry" for" the" Indice" (C767)," identifying" the"artist"

who"drew"the"portrait"of"Pound"that"appeared"with"the"latter’s"first"contribution;"the"

name" of" the" renaissance" Italian" poet" in" the" endnote" to" “D’accordo”" (C793);" or" the"

whole"body"of"text"in"the"long"“Traduzioni”"(C824)."The"material"pages"are"there,"but"if"

they"cannot"be"read,"in"an"important"sense"they"are"not"available,"at"least"not"for"nonJ

Italian" readers,"who" cannot" supply" the"missing"words" as" they"might" in" their"mother"

tongue."And"when"a"whole" line" is" illegible,"even"nativeJspeaker"competence"can’t" fill"

the" gap." Thus" the" following" field" notes" on" this" typographical" swamp." Grouped" as"

categories,"the"major"themes"developed"by"Pound"in"the"Indice"include"language"and"

translation," criticism," the" visual" arts," and" social" issues." Of" these," the" most" brilliant"

concern"language,"and"the"least"appealing"concern"the"social."Overall,"it"is"evident"that"

Pound" is" working" from" a" clear" agenda" which" has" him" bringing" his" version" of" the"

modernist"literary"revolution"into"Italy"through"criticism"and"translation."Pound"enters"

the"Indice"in"its"third"number"(20"Feb."1930)"and"with"a"major"manifesto:"a"translation"

of" How" to" Read," which" had" just" appeared" the" year" before" in" the" New" York" Herald"

Tribune" Books." Reversing" the" order" of" the" twoJpart" original," first" the" curriculum"

appears,"“I"più"grandi"poeti"d’ogni"secolo"e"d’ogni"gente”"(D101),"and"then"the"theory,"

“Come"si"deve"leggere.”"(D102)"After"thus"establishing"that"the"literature"that"matters"

is"not"bound"by"time"or"nationality,"Pound"moves"into"the"present"with"“Vita"estera”"

(C767),"bringing"the"reader"up"to"date"on"which"literary"reviews"“dispense/disperse"a"

contemporary"light"on"current"literature.”"The"Italian"verb"he"uses"is"spargere,"chosen"

no"doubt"for"its"Latin"root,"“to"scatter”"as"with"seed."The"light"is"to"be"fecund."With"this"

planting"accomplished,"Pound"introduces,"in"the"first"of"twentyJtwo"Appunti"or"Notes,"

what"will"remain"his"primary"concern"throughout"his"two"years"with"L’Indice:"language,"

and" translation"as"a" tool" to"master" it"or"at" least" learn" its"nature."He" is" theorizing"his"

own"practice"here,"for"the"greater"volume"of"his"contributions"to"L’Indice,"and"this"will"

also"be" true"of" the"Supplemento"Letterari" later"on,"consists"of" translation:"of"others’"

work"and"his"own,"and"as"editor"he"supplies"translations"by"other"hands."Language"is"

introduced"in"“Le"mystère"Cocteau”"by"raising"the"question"of"what"defines"a"classic:"

“The" classic" does" not" smell" of" antiquity" or" mummies" or" of" museums." It" has" the"

freshness" of" new"grass”" (cf." ABC"14)."What" keeps" it" fresh" is" a" quality" exemplified" in"

Cocteau’s"prose."Reiterating"the"antiJrhetorical"theme"that"runs"through"the"Appunti,"

Pound"states"that"“the"normal"recipe"for"translating"from"French"to"good"English"is"to"

omit"10"to"30"percent"of"the"words.”"Try"that"with"Cocteau,"he"says,"and"you"can’t"do"

it."“I"suspect"that"Cocteau"has"removed"more"fustian,"more"tapestries,"more"furs"and"

feathered"boas"from"the"French"language"than"any"man"living”"(C770)."In"short,"Pound"

is" restating" his" imagistic" objections" to" rhetoric" and" emotional" slither," implying" the"

efficacy"of"the"hard"abstractions"of"modernism,"and"he"does"so"in"an"Italian"that"has"at"

least" the" freshness" of" nonJnative" idiosyncrasy." The" fullest" statement" of" Pound’s"

application"of"his"modernist"poetics"to"translation"occurs"in"the"first"of"the"Appunti,"the"

“Lettera"al"traduttore,”"an"essay"of"considerable"importance"(Appendix"3)."Here"it"may"

be" noted" that" Pound’s" proposal" that" translation" from" French" to" English" requires" a"

substantial"reduction"in"the"word"count"is"one"he"applies"generally:"“It"does"not"suffice"

to"say"that"the"English"language"is"more"succinct"than"Italian."Every"translation"should"

be" briefer" than" the" original." Don’t" stand" on" ceremony" with" a" waterfall”" (C783)."

Sometimes"the"critique"of"verbal"cascades"is"directed"at"contemporary"Italian"writers,"

whom" he" states" are" more" “lovers" of" the" thought" than" devotees" of" the" word.”" He"

clarifies"this"idea"by"distinguishing"between"the"word,"the"area"where"precision"can"be"

obtained,"and"the"phrase"or"sentence,"the"domain"of"rhetoric"(C793).The"next"Note,"“Il"

Mal" Francese,”" makes" a" curious" turn" against" the" diatribes" which" Pound" has" often"

launched"against"American"monolingualism,"stating"that"in"the"Italian"case,"as"distinct"

from"that"of"the"U.S."more"is"to"be"learned"by"translating"French"books"than"by"reading"

them"in"the"original,"for"“the"Italian"habit"of"reading"French"books"in"French,"instead"of"

translating" them," harms" the" precision" of" Italian" thought.”" Then" he" seems" to" ask"

himself,"if"it"is"true"of"reading"that"“the"words"of"a"language"lose"their"precision"when"

read"in"a"foreign"country,”"whether"it"must"be"even"more"true"of"writing,"causing"him"

to" conclude:" “And" how" much" have" I" lost" in" these" very" columns" trying" to" write" a"

language"I"have"learned"from"reading"rather"than"understood"from"the"lips"of"my"black"

nanny."The"pages"become"too"smooth,"when"they"would"be"better"served"by"a"word"

that"is"‘pexa"or"hirsuta’”"(C788)."We"are"reminded"of"the"striking"opening"of"“Lettera"al"

traduttore”:" Traducendomi," non" cercare" l’eleganza" di" espressioni" letterarie." Non"

temere" l’aspro." “In" translating" me," don’t" search" for" elegance" of" literary" expression."

Don’t"fear"harshness.”"The"phrase"constitutes"Pound’s"second"reference"to"Dante’s"Di"

vulgari" eloquentia" ," evidently" an" attempt" to" educate" the" reader" and" to" “make"new”"

Dante’s"rhetoric"as"a"modernist"counter"to"what"Pound"sees"as"the"dominant"waterfall"

mode."In"another"passage"he"reflects"on"his"difficult"in"writing"in"a"language"of"which"

he"has"but"an"imperfect"command"and"offers"a"very"Poundian"apology:"“I"ask"pardon"

for"the"botch"I"make"of"Italian."I"feel"that"in"your"language"(the"language"of"which"Love"

boasts,"etc.)" I" lack"that"richness"of"vituperative"terms"that" I"would"have"been"able"to"

employ" in" my" own”" (C778)." Subsequent" Appunti" about" translation" offer" equally"

substantial"fare."Briefly:"1)"That"the"translation"of"prose"serves"to"circulate"ideas,"but"

the" translation" of" poetry" “has" more" life." Translating" it" stimulates" and" enriches" the"

language,"or"at"least"it"should.”"As"the"translator"searches"for"a"precise"equivalent"of"a"

word"or"phrase," “the" language" receiving" the" translation" is"extended”" (C829)."2)" That"

the" special" virtue" of" translating" poetry" is" that" “it" betrays" and" ." ." ." denudes" [Pound’s"

ellipsis].”"“It"denudes"the"subject,"denudes"the"material."Superficial"novelty"falls"away."

Stuffing" shows" through.”" For" criticism" this" last" action" is" of" special" benefit," as" Pound"

declares"himself"inclined"to"believe"that"the"critic"who"doesn’t"work"at"translation"will"

always" remain" “vile," gluttonous," ignorant," stupid," and" insensible" to" literary" values”"

(C825)." 3)" That" the" translation" of" poetry" in" university" classrooms"would" be" of" great"

practical"value."The"thought"of"what"could"be"done"with"halfJmillion"firstJyear"students"

in"the"U.S."starts"the"utopian"lights"flashing"in"his"head:"“Instead"of"the"usual"bestiality"

of"Nôtre"Dame"de"Paris,”"the"teacher"could"choose"a"worthy"book,"“assign"five"pages"

to"each"student,"and"have"the"class"discuss"the" felicities"and" infelicities"of" the"verbal"

equivalents."Within" a" year," an" entire" library"would"have"been"wrested" from"abroad,"

and" with" what" interest" and" enthusiasm" on" the" part" of" the" students." A" sense" of"

collaboration," a" sense" of" doing" something," of" being" part" of" a" contemporary" united"

national"life”"(C824)."These"last"named"qualities,"which"properly"should"be"called"statal"

(as"we"shall"see),"are"among"those"Pound"finds"absent"in"Italian"literature"and"criticism,"

but"his"more" frequent" accusation" is" that" critics" and"writers" fail" to"perform"up" to"his"

modernist" mark." Italian" criticism," according" to" Pound," writing" in" February" 1931," is"

mired"in"the"past,"endlessly"reviewing"and"reconsidering"the"major"figures"of"the"late"

nineteenth"century."Not" that" these"writers"necessarily"are"bad,"Pound"says," treading"

warily"in"his"first"trespass"on"the"turf"of"Italian"criticism:"“For"the"moment"(that"is,"the"

next"twentyJfive"years)"it" is"useless"to"write"more"criticism"on"Carducci,"Pascoli,"etc."I"

do"not" speak"of" the"merits"of" these"and"other"writers."When"Marinetti" said" in"1908"

that" for" ten" years" no" more" nudes" should" be" painted" he" didn’t" intend" to" deny" the"

necessity" of" the" feminine" function" in" the" work" of" nature”" (C806)." To" extenuate" his"

criticism" still" further," Pound" admits," “I" have" myself" carried" a" volume" of" Carducci’s"

poetry"in"my"valise"from"one"country"to"another.”""

In"his"next"grapple"with" Italian"criticism"two"months" later,"Pound" is" less"circumspect."

This" comes" in"Note"XII," on"Futurism,"where," asserting" the"verbosity"of" the"dominant"

prose"style"and" its" love"of" the"wellJturned"phrase,"he"states"that" if"he"had"to"choose"

between" a" futuristic" complete" destruction" of" the" past" and" “this" nefarious" habit" of"

entombing"oneself" in"the"card" indices"of" libraries,"of"occupying"oneself"with"so"many"

books"that"cannot"give"the"least"stimulus"or"nutriment"to"a"new"literature,"one"that"is"

vital" and" contemporary," I" would" choose" the" destruction" of" the" past”" (C813)." This"

argument"quickly"turns"into"Pound’s"familiar"critical"topos"of"what"is"missing."Not"only"

is"the"preoccupation"with"the"recent"past"harmful,"but"a"constructive"criticism"of"the"

classical"past" is"missing," a" state"of" affairs"Pound"doesn’t" find"new." “The"Renaissance"

wrote" very" little" criticism." Lorenzo" Valla" criticized" separate" words;" but" literary"

criticism?"Almost" nothing.”" From"his" Pisgah"peak" surveying"past" and"present," Pound"

asks:"“Who"in"Italy"has"made"an"analytical"criticism"of"the"Latin"authors?"A"remorseless"

criticism"that"distinguishes"among"the"qualities"of"Catullus,"Horace,"Ovid,"and"Virgil"."."

.?"In"all"of"Europe,"before"the"poetry"of"Laforgue"appeared,"no"one"had"written"a"single"

intelligent"line"about"Propertius”"(C813"“Futurismo”)."Given"this"vision"of"lack,"it"is"not"

surprising"that"as"early"as"January"1929"Pound"was"writing"Montale,"“The"thing"I"don’t"

find" in" Italy" is"a"man"who"wants"to"understand"the"state"of"contemporary" literature”"

(Lett." 105)." Pound" does" not" make" his" best" showing" here," and" it" is" easy" enough" to"

understand" the" anger" of" Italian" critics" like" Praz" (in" Jung" and" Palandri" 102J11)" and"

Montale" (in" Jung"and"Palandri"123J27)"at" the"arrogance—compounded"by" ignorance,"

they"argueJJwhich"his" remarks"on" Italian" literary"culture"reveal."The"novelists" fare"no"

better" than" the" critics." They" have" failed" to" produce" fictional" realism" in" the" class" of"

Joyce"and"Lewis"(C783)."Pound"declares"he"has"searched"in"vein"for"a"novel"that"would"

present"the"moeurs"contemporaines"of"Italy:"“It"would"give"me"great"pleasure"to"find"a"

portrait,"or"some"portraits,"of"contemporary"Italian"life,"that"would"give"me"some"kind"

of"idea,"maybe"general"and"imprecise"but"a"point"of"departure"in"order"to"comprehend"

what" it’s" like" in" the"bosom"of"a"good" Italian" family" (middleclass,"of"course)"when" for"

five"minutes"we"don’t"speak"of"literature"and"art”"(C801)."(In"a"letter"to"Carlo"Izzo"he"

would" be"more" severe:" “there" are" NO" italian" literary"works" /" all" pewk" dated" 1889”"

[Jung"and"Palandrini"157].)" In" this"blanket"condemnation,"Pound"makes"an"exception"

for"Federigo"Tozzi’s"Tre"croci"(1920),"which"he"finds"equal"to"Joyce’s"Dubliners"and"the"

best"chapters"of"Williams"(C809),"but"not"for"Alberto"Moravia,"whom"he"did"not"bother"

to"read"(C801)."Had"he"read"Moravia,"would"he"have"found"the"Flaubert"he"was"looking"

for?" Impossible" to" say." For" Pound."who" thought" the" novel" should" offer" analysis" and"

critique," the" realistic" social" portrait" which" made" Moravia’s" Gli" indifferenti" (1929)"

controversial"should"have"given"satisfaction,"and"surely"the"lean"matterJofJfactness"of"

the"latter’s"style"is"close"to"Pound’s"taste."Here"some"blame"falls"on"Saviotti,"for"Pound"

gave"up"on"Gli"indifferenti"after"reading"Saviotti’s"review"of"it"carried"in"the"Indice"for"

November" 1930." “Reading" the" article" by" Saviotti" about" Alberto" Moravia’s" Gli"

indifferenti"(which"I"have"not"yet"read)"I"understand"that"I"will"not"find"in"this"novel"the"

Italy" that" I" see" around" me”" (C801)." As" I" have" indicated" earlier," however," Saviotti’s"

review" is"not"unfavorable," leavening" its" critique"of"psychologism"with"high"praise" for"

the" writer’s" gifts." One" cannot" help" wondering" if" it" was" Pound’s" distaste" for"

psychological"analysis"(something"of"which"he"was"always"leery)"that"kept"him,"to"his"

loss,"away."Pound,"characteristically,"found"history"safer,"or"at"least"more"satisfactory,"

than" fiction." This" emerges" in" the" previously" considered" “Lettera" al" traduttore”" in" a"

discussion"of"the"Latin"roots"of"Italian."According"to"Pound,"“even"in"a"language"that"is"

further" removed" from" Latin" than" Italian,”" the" prose" stylist" should"make" use" of" “the"

light" and" the" ironies" which" emerge" between" the" Latin" meaning" and" the" current"

meaning"of"words.”"He"declares"he"has"found"“modern" Italian"prose”"not"among"the"

novelists" but" among" the" historians," and" names" “Amari" (History" of" the"Muslims)" and"

Giovanni"Soranzo"writing"almost"philologically"on"the"Malatesta.”"The"references"here"

are" to" Michele" Amari," 1806J1889," the" Sicilian" historian" and" risorgimento" politician,"

whose"Storia"dei"Musulmani"di"Sicilia" (1854J72,"3"vols.)"was"brought"out" in"a"second"

edition" in" 1930;" and" Giovanni" Soranzo" (1881J1963)," professor" of" at" the" Catholic"

University" of" Milan" and" author" of" The" Century" of" Sigismondo" Pandolfo" Malatesta"

(1904)" and" The" War" of" Pius" II" against" the" Malatesta," 1460J1463" (1907)." Various"

inferences"may"be"drawn"from"Pound’s"citing"these"two"historians,"one"of"them"from"

the" midJnineteenth" century," as" representatives" of" “modern" Italian" prose.”" Clearly,"

“modern”" here" does" not" mean" contemporary;" and" his" strictures" against" writers" of"

bellesJlettres"(like"those"of"the"Nouvelle"revue"francais)"for"raiding"their"grandmother’s"

attics" doesn’t" hold" for" historians." Pound" seems" to" be" appreciating" the" company" of"

writers" whose" sensibilities" are" sufficiently" formed" by" the" study" of" Latin" (“writing"

almost"philologically”)"to"appreciate"“the"light"and"the"ironies”"of"linguistic"play"in"his"

own" Homage" to" Propertius." By" early" training" and" by" inclination" never" far" from"

philology"himself,"perhaps"Pound"feels"these"are"men"of"his"own"kind:"“the"swirlers"out"

of"the"mist"of"my"soul,"/"They"that"come"mewards,"bearing"old"magic”"(“In"Durance,”"

1907)."When"the"focus"widens"from"Italy"to"literature"and"criticism"generally,"Pound"is"

up"to"his"usual"standards,"but"these"topics"are"already"familiar"from"his"more"readily"

available"writings:"tradition"and"the"distinction"between"writers"of"first"level"intensity"

(Dante)"and"those"of"second"or"third"(Petrarch—this"rating"a"deliberate"shocker"for"the"

Italian"audience)" (C778);" the"continuing"polemic"against"the"Nouvelle"revue"française"

and" its" “chapelle”" worshipping" Gide," Proust," Valéry" (C800," 814);" practical" dicta,"

including"a"whole"essay"called"“La"critica”"composed"of"observations"like"“Once"in"five"

years"I’d"like"to"read"a"critical"article"that"makes"me"want"to"buy"a"book”"(C829);"the"

insistence"that"memoirs"and"psychologism"à"la"St."Beuve"are"not"criticism"(C778);"and,"

finally" and" perhaps" freshest," some" incisive" remarks" on" cinema" and" its" effect" on"

literature."“All" literary"criteria"undergo"the"effects"of"the"new"art." It’s"a"great"benefit"

for" literature."Means"more"exigent"criteria."Demands"more"stamina,"more"point," less"

straw" and" stuffing." ." ." .”" (C841)." Second" only" to" Italian" literary" culture," Pound" pays"

attention" to" the" visual" arts," and" there" are" valuable" Appunti" on" the" Venice" Biennial"

(C809)," Futurism" (C809)," and" sculpture" (C813)." Pound’s" changing" attitude" toward"

Futurism," from" the" early" dismissal" in" the" pages" of" Blast" to" the" late" apotheosis" of"

Marinetti"in"Canto"72,"has"been"discussed"elsewhere"(Zapponi,"in"Jung"and"Palandrini"

88J92)."The"article"on"Futurism"has"appeared"in"translation,"and"that"on"the"Biennial,"

where" Pound" says" the" only" gallery" that" didn’t"make" him" cry"was" the" Futurists’," has"

been"widely"quoted;"but"“Scultura,”"the"companion"piece"to"“Futurismo”"has"received"

little"or"no"attention."The"Note" is"written"as"a" letter" to" the"Fascist" sculptor"Thayaht,"

and"here"Pound"agrees"with"Saviotti"and"Croce"about"the"unity"of"content"and"form;"

but" one" should" note" the" context." He" is" distinguishing" between" vorticist" and" futurist"

aesthetics:"“I"don’t"discuss"the"content"of"art,"nor"in"a"sense"do"I"think"it"is"discussible."

In"another"sense,"the"content"of"a"work"of"art"is"neither"more"or"less"or"other"than"the"

form".".".".”"For"Pound,"the"futurist"aesthetic"is"a"cerebral"process"like"bridgeJbuilding,"

because" it" is"programmatic." “From"my"point"of" view," you"make"a"mistake"when"you"

confound"ideology"and"art”"(C813)."He"seems"to"have"been"anticipating"this"argument"

in"the"preceding"issue"when"he"asked,"“Is"there"a"difference"between"the"construction"

of"an"engineer"and"art?"Yes."To"make"a"bridge"you"start"with"a"design"and"then"fill" it."

Art"has"no"design"before" its"making."The"work"has"a"nature" that" is"not" falsified."The"

form" of" the" oak" cannot" be" predicted," but" the" oak" never" becomes" an" olive”" (C811)."

Toward"the"end"of"the"essay"he"restates"what"he"said"in"“Futurismo”"about"his"growing"

rapport"with"Futurism:"“I"believe"that" if" I"had" lived" in" Italy"between"1912"and"1924" I"

would"have"made"common"cause"with"the"futurists,"not"because"I"would"have"been"in"

agreement"with"their"esthetic"principles"but"because"there"was"no"other"place"to"go"."."

.”" (C813)."When"we" turn" from" the" visual" arts" to" the" social" landscape,"we" find" initial"

adumbrations"of"the"socialJeconomic"issue,"in"particular"the"statal"idea"that"emerges"in"

the" JeffersonJAdams" Cantos," Eleven" New" Cantos" (1934)" and" Jefferson/Mussolini"

(1935)."In"February"1931"he"opens"his"treatment"of"Italian"society"with"the"question"of"

why"he"is"in"Italy."Many"scholars"have"given"answers"to"that"question;"few,"if"any,"have"

cited"Pound’s"direct"reply"in"“Non"parlo"d’esportazione”:"“They"ask"me"why"I’m"in"Italy."

They" think" I’m" here" only" for" my" interest" in" archives" and" monumental" architecture"

(which" do" not" exist" where" I" live)." The" answer," rather," is" that" I" find" here" a" sense" of"

contemporaneity,"more" (I" confess)" in" the" field" of" ideas" and" in" the" social" Anschaung"

than" in" the" literature." But" this" sense," I" think," will" also" come" in" the" books" that" are"

beginning"to"be"written"this"year"or"in"1932”"(C806)."Does"this"passage"mean"Pound"is"

in" Italy" for" Fascism?" The" charitable" reader" may" want" to" argue" that" such" an"

interpretation" is" inaccurate." Had" Pound"meant" Fascism," surely" he" would" have" used"

that" word." He" is" here" for" the" reason" he" says," for" the" “social" Anschaung,”" of" which"

manifestation" at" this" time" Fascism"was" still" only" a" part." In" February" 1931," this" logic"

asserts,"no"one"thought"the"depression"would"last"or"that"war"would"be"necessary"to"

end"it."It"was"still"possible"for"Pound"to"believe"his"utopian"dream"of"an"ordered"society"

based"on"a"just"measure"of"exchange,"with"the"state"providing"patronage"for"the"arts,"

and" a"printing"press" in" every"university" and"every" city" (C824)." This" reading"does"not"

hold," however," if" we" examine" the" key" word" “contemporaneity”" and" its" variants." In"

context," it"turns"out"to"be"Pound’s"codename"for"the"Fascist"state."“A"writer,”"Pound"

says,"“must"know"where"he" lives" in"space"but"also" in"time.”"With"a"touch"of"crackerJ

barrel"humor,"he"asserts"that"today"is"the"era"of"the"masses"and"of"mass"production,"

the"day"“Mr."Tretyakow"is"institutionalizing"a"cooperative"in"Mjzdjkskzds,"and"Mr."Ford"

is" producing" 10,000,000,000,000,000"Model" A’s" in" three" hours.”" He" exaggerates" the"

difficulty"of"Russian"names"and" the"excess"of"American"productivityto"designate" two"

alternative"responses"to"the"phenomenon"of"the"masses:"one"Russian"and"communist,"

the"other"American"and"capitalist." Italy,"he" implies," represents"a" third"way,"one" that"

effects"“an"advance”"in"hardness"and"objectivity,"an"application"as"it"were"of"modernist"

aesthetics" to" society." This" third" way" “will" not" consist" of" redoing" and" resaying"more"

prolixly" what" public" figures" have" already" said," but" in" defining" the" state" of" the"

contemporary"mind,"the"ideas"that"exist"contemporaneously"with"the"statal" idea,"the"

changes"in"sensibility"reflected"in"the"world"around"us"and"in"personal"relationships.”"

We" are"moving," he" says," to" a" greater" objectivity." The" personal" and" sickly" sensibility"

does"not"have"the"same"intellectual"value"it"had"before;" it’s"not"interesting"anymore."

We"are"annoyed"by" the"whimpering"of" the"melancholic"who" is" that"way"because"he"

doesn’t"have"the"good"sense"or"the"good"taste"to"drink"a"glass"of"purgative"water"from"

Mount"Wherever."Similarly,"not"just"by"the"brutalization"of"the"war,"but"by"an"advance"

in"objectivity,"the"tragedy"of"the"mutilated"exists"objectively,"but"it"has"less"subjective"

value." The" sensibility" of" the" social" organism," on" the" other" hand," is" growing." It" may"

appear" as" something" stoic," as" we" approach" a" certain" Classicism" as" yet" poorly"

understood." Certain" classic" things" which" appeared" a" bit" empty" in" the" age" of" an"

exaggerated"romanticism"reacquire"a"“value”"or"become"interesting"again."

All" that"which" appeared" “political" and" a" bit" extraneous”" twenty" or" thirty" years" ago,"

returns" to" fashion." It" is" not" political" passion," but" it" is" easily" confounded" with" it." In"

American"English" it’s"called"“public"spirit,”"or" it"was"called"that"a"hundred"years"ago."

Thirty" years" ago" it" seemed"a" parody," but" already" a" new" search"was"beginning." Jules"

Romains" in" his"writings" about" “Unanimism"" artistically" preceded" the" new" sensibility,"

the"sense"of"well"being"the"individual"has"when"a"group"or"community"is"healthy,"the"

sense"of"responsibility."The"artist’s"antennae"are"working"here,"albeit"in"a"way"“as"yet"

poorly"understood”"by"himself,"as"they"intuit"the"future"form"of"something"evolving"in"

the"present."but"their"sensitivity"has"been"blunted." It" is"hard"to"say"which"came"first,"

but"there" is"both"a"hardening"of"the"affective"organs"and"a"withering"of" the" intuitive"

ones,"making"us"wonder"at"what"cost"to"himself"Pound"has"bought"his"objectivity"and"

submerged" the" literary" within" the" social." Literature" plays" a" central" role" in" Pound’s"

imagination"of"the"evolution"of"a"Fascist"thirdJway."“What"do"we"need,"then?”"he"asks."

Earlier"in"the"essay"he"has"observed"the"first"signs"of"“intellectual"rebirth”"in"Italy"when"

he" saw" in" the" bookstore"windows," not" the" usual" “D.P.T.A.”" (Dante," Petrarch," Tasso,"

Ariosto)"but"translations"of"Dostoevsky"and"Kipling"(cf."J/M"84J85)."Probably"not"good"

translations,"he"says"(nor,"though"he"doesn’t"say"this,"the"works"he"would"have"chosen"

to"translate),"but"at" least"they"are"there."So"we"are"not"surprised,"or"shouldn’t"be,"at"

his"answer"to"the"question"of"what"we"need:"“A"good"translation"of"the"works"of"Leo"

Frobenius," or" at" least" of" the" Paideuma," is" lacking" in" Italy" (France," American," and"

England)."And"Italy"also"needs"a"good"edition"of"the"works"of"Henry"James.”"Literature"

and"the"arts"return"in"the"conclusion"of"the"troubling"“Non"parlo"d’esportazione”"with"

two"more"disturbing"anecdotes,"one" from"Antheil,"whom"Pound" in"Guide" to"Kulchur"

would"call"“that"very"tough"baby”"(94),"and"one"from"Hulme,"who"long"ago"had"given"

Pound" the" idea" of" classical" hardness." Now" Pound" wants" to" extend" his" modernist"

aesthetic"of"hardness"and"objectivity" to" the" field"of" the"social."He"wants," in"short," to"

aestheticize"the"political."This" is"the"whole"of"the"fifth"and"final"section:"Returning"to"

the"change"of" sensibility" indicated"above,"Antheil" told"me"one"day,"“Tragedy"doesn’t"

exist."That’s"right," I"know."I"was"in"Berlin"during"the"war,"and"things"were"hard,"quite"

hard."Children"came"to"my"place"for"something"to"eat."There"was"little"to"eat."They"had"

little,"then"nothing,"then"they"died."But"it"wasn’t"a"tragedy.”Hulme"told"me"that"in"the"

trenches"he"didn’t"have"any"great"feeling"about"the"men"around"him"dying."When"he"

himself" was" wounded," what" he" felt" was" for" the" moment" indignation," unexpected"

indignation."In"compensation"for"this"apparent"hardening,"will"a"sense"of"humanity"in"

the" mass" resurge?" History" has" answered" that" question," though" we" may" not" agree"

about"what"the"answer"means."One"thing"for"sure:"the"answer"was"part"of"the"social"

Anschaung."

( (

4.(The(Dialogue(between(Pound(and(Saviotti(

By"dint"of"Pound’s"hammering"on"the"themes"sketched"above,"within"a"year"a"shape"

began"to"emerge"in"the"pages"of"L’Indice."On"May"10th,"1931,"in"an"exchange"of"letters"

in"the"Appunti"column,"Saviotti"declared"himself"convinced"that"Pound"was"right"about"

the"need"to"translate"good"books,"and"offered"Pound"a"section"of"the"review"in"which"

to"pursue"his"project."This"agreement,"the"fruit"of"a"year’s"constructive"dialogue"with"

Saviotti,"took"the"form"of"a"large"(often"a"full"page"or"more)"Overseas"Affairs"section,"

which" in" turn" lead" directly" into" the" continuation" of" the" Indice" in" the" Supplemento"

letterario," as" the"page"grew" into"what"Pound" first" foresaw"as" a"possibility" and" then,"

with"Saviotti’s"help,"brought" into"existence:"a" fullJfledged" international" review"of" the"

arts."

The"page"of"Overseas"Affairs" is" the"result"of"a"dialogue"that"had"begun" in"the"earlier"

pages"of"the"Indice."Dialogue"allows"for"disagreement,"but"it"also"implies"a"underlying"

mutual" sympathy" from"which" the"willingness" to" listen"arises."What"was" the"common"

ground" between" Saviotti" and" Pound," beyond" geographical" proximity" and" rebellion"

against" the" literary" status"quo?" Luciano"Cherchi," a"noted" critical" voice"of" the"period,"

describes" a" basic" agreement" in" their" poetics:" “In" Saviotti," who" was" neoJidealist" by"

training"[i.e.,"by"force"of"his"years"with"Croce],"the"ideas"of"Pound"the"imagist"seemed"

not"out"of" accord"with" the"Crocean"poetics" of" intuition" and" image”" (Strulato"10n.5)."

This" precision" is" helpful," but" the" common" ground" between" Pound" and" Saviotti" was"

much"broader" than"a"matter"of"poetics." It"was"an" idealistic"belief" in" the"centrality"of"

literatureJJand" thus" a" literary" reviewJJin" social" life;" a" belief" in" literature" as" a" socially"

meliorative" force." This" ground" was" ample" enough" to" accommodate" local"

disagreements."Given"that"Pound"was"the"foreign" ingredient" in"the"combination,"and"

also"that"his"native"generosity"had"its"prickly"side,"one"should"give"credit"to"Saviotti"for"

the"openness"which" from" the"outset"he"displayed" toward" the"difference" that" Pound"

represented."The"dialogue"that"produced"the"Overseas"Affairs"section"is"foreshadowed"

by"the"head"notes"with"which"Saviotti"as"editor"introduced"and"explained"Pound"in"the"

latter’s"first"appearances."It"boded"well"for"the"two"men’s"working"relationship"that"the"

first"agreement"they"establish"in"the"Indice"is"the"willingness"to"disagree."The"idea"of"a"

superficial"or"pretended"agreement"evoked"Pound’s"scorn"in"the"December"1930"note"

“D’accordo!!”" (C793)." I" have" always" thought" it" impertinent" to" pretend" to" be" in"

agreement"with"another."Even"when"the"same"verbal"expression"is"found."Many"facile"

men"have"disgusted"me"who"pretended"to"be"in"agreement"with"me."."."."I"was"never"in"

agreement"with"Joyce,"nor"with"Lewis,"nor"with"Eliot," the"most"congenial"men"of"my"

generation,"and"all"the"less"with"our"elders."In"my"first"years"in"London"it"was"my"habit"

to"visit"Ford"Madox"Ford,"with"whom"I"was"amicably"in"strong"disagreement,"as"I"was"

also"with"Yeats,"who"represented"a"point"of"view"contemptuously"opposed"to"Ford’s,"

and" with" which" I" did" not" agree." Disagreements," of" course," there" were." In" a" late"

memoir," a" letter" written" to" Luciano" Cherchi" in" 1971," Saviotti" says" “There" was" one"

literary"matter"we"didn’t"agree"on:"he"rated"Guido"Cavalcanti"higher"than"Dante."We"

argued"about"this,"but"without"hard"feelings”"(“Una"lettera"di"Gino"Saviotti”"31)."One"

suspects"that"Petrarch"also"entered"the"argument;"only"the"latter"appears"in"the"pages"

of"the"Indice"as"a"point"of"dissension."Another"area"where"the"two"men"disagreed"was"

about"the"place"of"criticism"dealing"with"the"Italian"literature"of"the"recent"past,"Pound"

suggesting"that"the"Indice"be"oriented"to"international"modernism,"Saviotti"recognizing"

the" merit" of" Pound’s" suggestion" in" so" far" as" the" review" might" aim" at" a" overseas"

readership"but"firm"in"his"policy"that"one"function"of"the"review"was"“to"keep"alive"the"

memory"of"certain"national"writers”"(C806,"end"note)."Pound"didn’t"like"this"reply—he"

complained" about" it" in" his" next" appearance," “Importazione”:" “Is" any" of" our"

contributors" capable" of" saying" anything" stimulating" and" relevant" about" I" Promessi"

Sposi";" and" ended" on" a" note" of" desperation," “I" feel" so" suffocated" sitting" in"my" own"

room" reading" our" fortnightly" that" I" could" scream”" (C809)." This" silent" scream" in" late"

February"1931"seems"to"have"evoked"a"sympathetic"response"from"Saviotti,"with"the"

result" that" a" resolution" is" reached" in" a" public" exchange," in" Pound’s" column" for"May"

10th,"that"moves"from"insistence"(Pound’s),"to"acceptance"(Saviotti’s),"to"joint"action."

Dear" Saviotti:" I" want," if" it’s" possible," to" get" it" into" your" noggin" (your" gourd)" the"

perception" of" the" difference" between" books" that" the" writer" can" read" as" personal"

instruction" about" art" and" current" books" that" can" have" a" little" merit" and" though"

culpable"from"almost"every"point"of"view"(as"literary"art,"as"evidence"of"a"perception,"

or"of"a"sense"of"life)"are"not"precisely"criminal,"and"for"which"the"dilettante"reader"can"

find"an"excuse."And"it"makes"no"difference,"adds"Pound,"whether"these"books"are"the"

fashion"in"Paris"or"whether"they"were"some"years"ago."Saviotti’s"response"is"mild"and"

goes"closer"to"the"heart"of"the"matter:"

Dear" Pound:" I" agree" with" the" substance" of" what" you" sayJJthat" is," with" the" general"

conception"of"art,"[but]"I"see"that"we"will"never"agree"about"the"particular"value"of"this"

or"that"movement,"this"or"that"writer."Since"in"matters"of"foreign"art,"I"naturally"have"

less"competence"than"you,"I"offer"you"a"proposal."I"will"entrust"to"you"completely"the"

supervision"of"that"part"of"the"Indice"concerned"with"collaboration"abroad."A"deal?"We"

will"make"a"special"column"(a"page,"a"half"page)"and"we"will"call"it"what"you"want,"and"

you"can"fill" it"as"you"think"best," inviting"the"authors"and"collaborators"of"your"choice."

And"I"will"undertake"to"have"you"look"at"whatever"writings"I"receive"from"abroad."Is"it"a"

deal?" Pound" accepts" and" goes" into" action," inserting" (all" this" in" the" same" column)" a"

boldJprint" call" for" translators:" “Ezra" Pound" asks" the" collaboration" of" twentyJfive"

translators"for"news"from"abroad"which"he" judges"useful" for"the"development"or"the"

acceleration"or"the"happiness"of"Italian"literary"life"this"year.”"Saviotti"ends"the"column"

by"noting"that"his"energetic"collaborator"has"gone"to"Paris"to"collect"books,"promising"

to"return"with"the"principal"writers,"“not"the"cadavers,”"of"the"day"(C820).""

On"the"25th"of"May"Pound"is"back"and"puts"his"books"on"the"table"(C823)."They"include"

Max"Ernst’s"La"Femme"aux"cent"têtes"and"Rêve"d’une"petite"fille"qui"voulut"entrer"au"

Carmel,"two"books"with"engravings"and"some"lines"of"text"(“Ernst"is"a"liberator,"as"was"

Laforgue."After"this"book,"it"should"be"impossible"to"write"in"a"mode"half"dead”);"Jean"

Cocteau’s"Opium;"and"Blaise"Cendrars’s"Aujourdui."Pound"also"cites"Ferdinand"Leger,"

“Read" and" reread" Le" Libertinage" di" Aragon" (1924).”" Whatever" one" thinks" of" the"

particular" dishes" in" the" portable" feast" Pound" brought" back" with" him," the" desired"

impetus"was"provided"for"L’Indice,"which"in"the"seven"months"remaining"to"it"lives"up"

to" Saviotti" and" Pound’s" agreement." Translations" include" (in" sequence):" René" Taupin"

(The" Classicism" of" T." S." Eliot);" Henry" Adams" (from" The" Education);" McAlmon" (on"

Gertrude"Stein);"LévyJBruhl"(Les"fonctions"mentales"dan"les"sociétés"supérieures);"Ford"

Madox" Ford" (Recollections" of" E." H." Hudson);" Frobenius" (from" Erzschlossen" Raüme);"

Henry" James" (“Brooksmith”);" and"Cocteau" (“Picasso”)."Translations"of" foreign"writers"

(including"Pound)"and"articles"about" the"writers" (including"Pound—by"Zukofsky)"now"

make"up"a"page"to"a"page"and"a"half"of"the"four"pages"of"L’Indice."Pound"has"brought"

his"version"of"the"dance"of"international"modernism"into"Italy."Or"at"least"into"L’Indice."

( (

5.(Conclusion:(For(a(New(Rights(of(Man(

Pound’s" agenda" in" working" with" the" Indice," his" effort" to" bring" his" style" of" literary"

modernism" into" Italy" has" been" sufficiently" discussed," here" and" elsewhere," and" that"

agenda," seconded" by" the" strong" friendship" that" grew" up" between" the" two" editors,"

sufficiently"explains"Pound’s"motives"in"collaborating"with"Saviotti."A"different"facet"of"

their"relationship"appears"if"we"consider"his"description"of"himself," in"a"1940"essay"in"

the"Meridiano" di" Roma," as" “a"Mazzini" looking" for" a" Cavour”" (Idee" 34)."Mazzini," the"

political" idealist"with"his"religious"concept"of"politics"as"a"mission"and"a"duty;"Cavour"

the"practical"strategist," surviving" in" the"hurlyJburly"of"politics—is" this"how"we"should"

understand" the"PoundJSaviotti"partnership?" If" so,"we"can"only" regret" the" loss"of" this"

Cavour," who" permanently" departed" in" 1939," adding" to" the" isolation" which" afflicted"

Pound" in" the"War"years," leaving"him" increasingly" the"victim"of"his"obsessive" ideas." It"

remains"to"say"something"about"Saviotti’s"motives"in"working"with"Pound,"what"he"was"

getting"out"of"yoking"(ligarJse)"himself"to"this"American"in"Rapallo"(Génova),"or"what"he"

thought"he"was"getting."We"are"fortunate"to"have"a"document"that,"though"fanciful"in"

its"form,"seems"a"fair"mirror"of"Saviotti" in"the"IndiceJSupplemento"period,"as"seen"by"

his"close"coJworker,"Edmondo"Dodsworth."Little"is"known"of"Dodsworth"except"that"he"

was" English," had" lived" some" years" in" IndiaJJhe"was"willing" to" cast" a" horoscope," says"

Saviotti" (“Lettera”" in" Bacigalupo," Poeta" 77)JJand" in" the" pages" of" the" two" reviews"

typically" occupied" himself" with" literature’s" esoteric" side," whether" Templarizing"

readings" of" Dante" or" translations" of" Blake" into" Italian," but" he" was" also" Saviotti’s"

secretary"during" the" Indice"years." In" January"1933"Dodsworth"contributed"a"piece" to"

the" Supplemento" called" “Ezra" Pound" in" un" giudizio" di" Gino" Saviotti,”" in" which" he"

imagines" interviewing" Saviotti" (“thin" (magro)," nervous," intelligent”)" about" Pound." In"

Dodsworth’s"typography:"

JJTell"us,"professor,"what"do"you"think"about"“them”?"I"allude"to"“Pound"&"Co.”"

JJa"dash"of"barbarism"in"our"excessive"civilization:"a"fine"restorative."

JJI"understand."But"have" the"kindness" to"define" for"me" the"difference"between" their"

aesthetic"concept"and"that"of"a"Latin."

JJWe" look" for" absolute" Art:" they" look" for" truth," for" movement." Both" sides" have" an"

idealistic"inspiration,"obviously,"or"they"would"be"outside"the"aesthetic"ambit."But"we"

Italians"can"sometimes"forget"the"practical"goal:"they"never"forget"it."And"it"suits"us"to"

let"them"go"ahead,"even"when"we"are"not"in"agreement."Because"they"are"useful"to"us."

Here"Dodsworth"interrupts"himself"to"ponder"the"strange"ways"of"the"English"(and"the"

American),"until"Saviotti"resumes:"

JJFor" my" part—he" continued—I" am" persuaded" that" our" supreme" esthetic" clarity"

generates" fewer" practical" results" than" their" enormous" confusion" of" ideas." It’s" a"

spiritual"abundance"that"overflows"into"the"artistic"production"making"it"richer,"more"

complex,"and"vaster."(Supplemento"214J15)"

Whether"this"is"a"true"reflection"of"Saviotti's"view"of"Pound"cannot"be"said"positively,"

but"it"rings"true,"and"it"was"printed"without"comment"by"the"subjects"concerned,"who"

were"also"the"editors.""

The"anecdote"is"not"criticism,"by"Pound’s"definition,"but"closer"to"what"in"the"essay"on"

Joyce" and" censorship" he" called" “the" putrid" mode" of" St." Beuve,”" psychological"

portraiture."The"verbal"portrait,"however,"requires"a"well"told"tale,"as"Pound,"himself"a"

master" of" the"mode," knew." In" the" preceding," I" have" tried" to" give" an" inside" view" of"

Pound" in" his" collabortion" with" Saviotti," staying" witin" the" world" that" they" knew" and"

eliciting"its"voices"and"circumstances."I"will"finish"this"portrait"of"a"friendship"(amizade)"

by"letting"Saviotti"tell"the"tale"of"his"last"meeting"with"Pound"in"1959."In"1959,"Pound"

knew"he"was"being"judged"and"judged"harshly."Among"his"last"requests"was"one"for"a"

new"Rights"of"Man."

"

It"was"’59,"I"was"back"from"Lisbon"to"see"him,"and"we"talked"of"the"usual"subjects,"men"

and" books." “Criticism" today" is" dead,”" I" offered." “They" lack" the" essential" thing—

evaluation.”" [Pause.]" And" Pound," arrived" in" Naples," had" cited" Gronchi," but" no" one"

noticed."I"waited."Something"would"come."

“Without"/"curiosity,”"he"said,"“literature"/"dies.”"

TwentyJfive" years" ago" in" the" blue" of" the" Tigullian" basin" under" the" azure" sky" he" had"

rolled"in"the"wave:"the"TitianJgold"beard,"the"roseflush"of"his"bare"chest"rising"from"the"

sea,"a"grizzly"Triton."

Then"we"were"at"his"new"apartment" in"Rapallo."First"thing,"he"showed"me"a"page"on"

which"he"had"written"by"hand:"“Every"man"/"has"a"right"/"to"have"his"ideas"/"examined"/"

one"at"a"time."."."."Men"/"should"be"seen"/"as"individuals"/"not"in"imprecise"/"abusive"/"

terms.”"[Pause".".".".]"Then"he"said,"

“For"a"new"/"Declaration"/"of"the"Rights"/"of"Man.”"

At"dinner"the"next"evening,"he"ate"little,"spoke"less."Frequent"sighs."“I"don’t"know"."."."."

tired."My"thoughts,"can’t"get"them"in"order"."."."“"Had"the"grizzly"spent"his"wrath,"or"was"

he"meditating"a"new"assault?"

“He’s"like"that,"sometimes,”"said"Dorothy."And"we"talked"of"this"and"that," like"people"

sipping"tea"in"a"parlor."

I"had"to"get"back"to"Rome"next"day."We"said"farewell."I"wanted"to"embrace"him,"clap"

him"on"the"back"and"say"“Bravo,"old"bear!”"."."."."But"I"did"not.""

I"didn’t"do"anything."But" I" felt"a"great" tenderness."Greater"even"than"my"admiration."

(Bacigalupo,"Poeta"88J89)"

"