A guide to the Cantos of Ezra Pound

the long version

"In this guide to one of the most difficult yet rewarding poems of the twentieth century, William Cookson (who began corresponding with Pound as a schoolboy in 1957) draws on a deep and intimate knowledge of Pound's life and work. This edition incorporates new information and has been revised and expanded. William Cookson gives overviews to the various sections of the poem, clarifying its purpose and structure and explaining the views on literature, history and economics that inform Pound's poetry. His commentary on each canto addresses the major stumbling-blocks for readers by translating foreign phrases, identifying quotations and explaining allusions."--BOOK JACKET.