I have finally managed to get my hands on a real treasure—a slim publication authored by the great Ezra Pound. Throughout the last year, I had heard whispers of this particular title in the citations and bibliographies of various books and papers on Mr Pound that I had been reading, and yet, I could not manage to locate a digital or physical copy. That is until a few days ago when it manifested before me on a shelf in an obscure Roman Libreria.
Carta da Visita was originally published as a pamphlet, and this powerful collection of aphorisms and pithy meditations reverberates with a certain power. The publication was written in Italian, for an Italian audience, and yet, this American writer managed to infuse his prose with an exquisite melody, the sweetness of Cavalcanti, a testament to Pound’s mastery of not just the English language but the Romance tounges as well.
You may not agree with Pound, you may find his political positions unseemly, and yet there is torrential wisdom surging from each page of this publication. I believe this work is worth sharing. To my knowledge, it has not yet been translated into English, and so for the sake of all, I will be sharing sections of the book over the next couple of weeks. A fun little side project as I continue with my regular content.
Properly, we should read for power. Man reading should be man intensely alive. The book should be a ball of light in one's hand.