So you knew Peter Russell, Andrew. That’s fascinating. I have a number of friends in Venice who remember him well. I attended a reading he gave once, on a return visit to the city, and found him very engaging.
And there are, of course, many people here who remember Pound well, and many of them with affection. Pound’s daughter, Mary de Rachewiltz, has devoted her life to promoting her father’s works and translating them into Italian, and she rents out the house he lived in near the Zattere to Pound scholars. She is horrified by the use that CasaPound has made of her father’s name, although it can’t be said that they are entirely wrong in so appropriating it.
There are a number of poets, whose works I respect, who are devoted to Pound. Clive Wilmer is one such person. Donald Davie another. I remain somewhat baffled.
On Pound in St. Elizabeth’s the last word must go to Elizabeth Bishop, of course.
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