Many of the Maybelogic courses featured "The Chinese Written Character as a medium for poetry by Ernest Fenollosa, which has an introduction by Ezra Pound thats helpful in making a concrete connection between these two individuals (Who never actually physically met) and creates a kind of "bridge" within the "Tale of the Tribe", to mean the characters which RAW often directed us towards reading and processing during the MLA classes. Ernest Fenollosa seems one of the lesser know characters from RAW's already slightly
arcane T.O.T.T MOB.
Fenollosa's influence upon Pound is something RAW often gestured towards us to look at and therefore i'll gesture you, good reader to do the same. I think there are still texts of " "The Chinese Written Character as a Medium for Poetry" by Ernest Fenollosa available on the web, but i can't find one to link to this evening.
5 comments:
Well, you can certainly find a PDF file of the text online here:
http://www.a42.com/library/Pound-CWCMP.pdf
The only flaw in the plan? That the Chinese characters don't read on my machine - but show as Question Marks...I don't think this happens because of my browser, or whatever, because I assume a PDF file has a fixed format - so I guess they never got loaded.
If I can find a little time, I'll scan them from the book, and put them up here.
But you get the text. And, for a short text, it seems like magic, to me. It changed the way I think, and the way I see and feel things. I call that great writing.
Is the Fenellosa book still available in wide distribution...or does it have to be tracked down in secondhand shops/sites?
Seems really interesting and a nice companion to the Cantos.
I can see several cheap copies in Abebooks (from the USA - the City Lights edition) - make sure you spell his name right, with two 'o's. Fenollosa
http://www.abebooks.com/
Bear in mind that many professional Sinologists consider the ideas misguided (but no-one likes amateurs invading their 'pro' turf) - but I enjoy it as a source of inspiration...for myself and the Imagists.
Creatives don't have such an obsession with 'accuracy' and 'truth', I guess...academics get paid to argue...
Ah right - cheers for the book link, Bogus.
I don't mind accuracy and truth, myself - but I also don't have time for stuffy academics defending their intellectual turf.
Seems like an intriguing idea to me, anyway. Sorta like Alfred Watkins' (I think) "The Old Straight Track", about ley-lines. His book gets dismissed now--but he got the ball rolling on ley-line research--so, to me, he still should get some appreciation.
I entirely agree PG - and if you can find a copy of Guy Underwood's "The Pattern of the Past" I recommend it unreservedly for 'inspiration' along those ley-lines... :-)
You can find a little Intro here
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