William Bird Ezra Pound papers

The William Bird Ezra Pound Papers consist of part of the contents of a never-retrieved trunk stored by Pound with William Bird when Pound moved from Paris to Italy in 1924. (Other material from this trunk is now located at the Lilly Library, University of Indiana at Bloomington.) The papers span the dates 1900-1926, although most of the material dates from between 1921 and 1924. They have been organized into four series: I. Correspondence; II. Writings; III. Personal Papers; and IV. Music.

Series I, Correspondence , is alphabetically correspondent and contains both letters received by Pound during his years in Paris and some carbons of his replies. Most correspondents are represented by one or two letters addressing a specific business or literary matter; these include such figures as Granville Bantock, Fanny Butcher, R. W. Chapman, Peggy Guggenheim, Alice Corbin Henderson, Fernand Léger, Samuel Roth, and Ernest Walsh. A carbon of a Pound letter to Maxwell Bodenheim, found in folder 4, contains Pound's comments on Bodenheim's interpretations of "Homage to Sextus Propertius" and "Hugh Selwyn Mauberley." A lengthy letter from Robert McAlmon discusses T. S. Eliot's limitations as a poet and his "intellectual tired adolescent quality" and comments that perhaps Pound has "spent too much time 'doing your share for others.'"

Pound's lifelong interest in physiological theories about mood and temperament is reflected in his correspondence with "gland theorist" Louis Berman (Box 1, folder 3); a carbon of his initial letter to Berman expounds his beliefs about the importance of the pineal gland in creativity. Letters from Agnes Bedford, the English musician with whom Pound collaborated on The Testament of François Villon, include references to that work and descriptions of concerts by George Antheil and Olga Rudge that Bedford attended in London.

Folder 26 contains letters and enclosures from the Japanese artist Tami Koumé (Tamijuro Kume). Koumé discusses plans for a Paris exhibition of his work and an eventual return to Japan; his planned marriage to a Frenchwoman; and his views on Japanese culture and art. A letter dated April 11, 1921 attempts to explain Zen to Pound: "ZEN means nothing! & everything. Without bodyly experience ZEN is nothing!"

The series also includes letters from Pound's publishers Boni & Liveright and Elkin Mathews, some accompanied by recent royalty statements. An October 1922 letter from Horace Liveright is addressed to "Dear Ezry" and comments on the low royalties to date: "I wish to Christ I knew how to sell your books.... Your time will come, but I hope that it won't take as long as it took for Samuel Butler." There are also letters connected to the Pounds' move to 70 bis, rue Notre Dame des Champs late in 1921, including correspondence with carpenters and plumbers concerning household repairs and improvements.

Letters to Pound from his English friend Bride Scratton are located in folders 45-49. Scratton, whose marriage was failing, visited Pound in Paris in 1921 and 1922, and Pound was named co-respondent in the 1923 Scratton divorce. Scratton's letters are highly personal in nature, and contain arrangements for meetings with Pound; description of her negotiations with her husband Ned and her concern for her children; mentions of her fear that she and Pound are being followed by detectives in Paris; and references to her feelings for Pound. In a letter of December 12, 1921 she writes that "It would be very ennuyant for both of us if I got to the stage of not being able to do without you, which is what I'm beginning to feel." There are several letters referring to Dorothy Pound's hospitalization in December 1921, which caused a postponement in a planned visit; an undated letter from this time refers to "a very cross letter" Scratton received from Pound and continues "You are stupid not to understand how much I want you." Finally, letters from 1923 refer to the imminent divorce, the Cantos manuscripts that Pound had sent to Scratton, and the possibility of a future meeting in Italy.

Series II, Writings , is organized into three subseries: Writings in English, Writings in French, and Writings of Others. The first, Writings in English, contains extensive holograph and typescript drafts of Pound's earliest Cantos, as well as the corrected setting typescript for A Draft of XVI Cantos, in which they first appeared. Other writings include the original typescript draft of Antheil and the Treatise on Harmony; a printed copy of "Bel esprit," Pound's appeal for funds to support T. S. Eliot; and an incomplete setting copy for Poems 1918-1921.

The second subseries, Writings in French, is housed in folders 103-121 and contains holograph and typescript draft translations by Pound of some of his shorter poems into French. The material is arranged alphabetically by title of draft. Folder 120 contains a typescript of a collection of such translations; titles are listed in the order in which they appear in the typescript. The third subseries, Writings of Others, contains typescripts of two unidentified poems.

Series III, Personal Papers , is housed in folders 124-144 and includes a copy of Pound's citation as co-respondent in the Scratton divorce case; his 1919 passport; photographs, including a portrait of Thaddeus Pound; printed material and notes by Pound relating to concerts by Antheil; an astrological chart in Pound's hand; and miscellaneous notes, bills and receipts.

Series IV, Music , is housed in box 4 and consists of manuscript music sketches and scores, primarily for Le Testament de Villon, the opera composed by Pound with assistance from the pianist Agnes Bedford. Folders 148-149 contain "Fiddle Music," sketches for a violin suite Pound composed for Olga Rudge, and folder 159 contains violin music in the hand of George Antheil.