Ezra and Dorothy Pound : letters in captivity, 1945-1946

A volume of letters capturing the most traumatic experience of Ezra Pound's life, when he was incarcerated at the end of World War II and indicted for treason.

Omar Pound and Robert Spoo have collected and edited the unpublished correspondence between the poet and his wife, combining it with military and FBI documents, previously unknown photographs, and an extensive, insightful introduction, to create the definitive work on this period of Pound's life.

During his incarceration in a US Army detention camp outside Pisa, Pound was allowed to write only to his wife, so these letters afford a look at a painful yet highly productive period, when Pound wrote his acclaimed "Pisan Cantos" and worked on his translations of Confucius.

Readers will discover insights into the sources and contexts of the Cantos and the circumstances of their composition.

There are also many moving passages testifying to Pound's partnership with Dorothy and her courageous efforts to help him; her experiences no less than his come to life in this volume.