The first two poems from TWEM for Ezra Pound are Cantos I & II. The Cantos was a huge project that took 50+ years to write, and was unfinished when Pound died. It was beyond 600 pages.
Canto I was a unique translation of a part of The Odyssey. Pound jumps right into what feels like the middle of retelling. Only later on do you get hints that you are on board Odysseus' ship heading home after the Trojan War. So if you are a fan of The Odyssey, you will appreciate and enjoy Canto I.
Canto II, I thought would be a continuation of Canto I, but nope! It goes in a significantly different direction. The style is experimental, like a collage, contrasting social and historical allusions and blending Greek mythology with modern ideas.
I enjoyed Canto I more so because I was familiar with The Odyssey than any of the cultural references in Canto II. And again, Canto II was in that experimental style that William Carlos Williams wrote in, of which I was not so fond.
The Cantos was a huge project that took 50+ years to write, and was unfinished when Pound died. It was beyond 600 pages.
Canto I was a unique translation of a part of The Odyssey. Pound jumps right into what feels like the middle of retelling. Only later on do you get hints that you are on board Odysseus' ship heading home after the Trojan War. So if you are a fan of The Odyssey, you will appreciate and enjoy Canto I.
Canto II, I thought would be a continuation of Canto I, but nope! It goes in a significantly different direction. The style is experimental, like a collage, contrasting social and historical allusions and blending Greek mythology with modern ideas.
I enjoyed Canto I more so because I was familiar with The Odyssey than any of the cultural references in Canto II. And again, Canto II was in that experimental style that William Carlos Williams wrote in, of which I was not so fond.