''Discretions'', also published as ''Ezra Pound, Father and Teacher: Discretions'', is a 1971

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

Mary de Rachewiltz Mary de Rachewiltz (born Maria Rudge) is an Italian-American poet and translator. She is the daughter of the American poet Ezra Pound, whose ''The Cantos'' she translated into Italian. Her childhood memoir '' Discretions'' was published in 1971. ...

, an Italian-American translator and poet. It is about Rachewiltz's childhood with a foster family in the

Italian Tyrol Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

and about her father, the American poet

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an List of poets from the United States, American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Ita ...

Summary

, a translator and poet, was born as Maria Rudge in 1925 as the daughter of the American poet

and his mistress

Olga Rudge Olga Rudge (April 13, 1895 – March 15, 1996) was an American-born concert violinist, who had a long-term relationship with the poet Ezra Pound, by whom she had a daughter, Mary. A gifted concert violinist of international repute, her consid ...

, a concert violinist. She grew up at a farm in the

with a foster family. During her childhood, she met her biological parents during their visits to the farm and her own visits to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, where she occasionally observed her father writing poetry. From the age of 13 she lived with Pound and Olga in Venice. As a grown-up, she translated her father's major work ''

The Cantos ''The Cantos'' is a long modernist poem by Ezra Pound, written in 109 canonical sections in addition to a number of drafts and fragments added as a supplement at the request of the poem's American publisher, James Laughlin. Most of it was wr ...

'' into Italian.

Reception

Brad Darrach of ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' called the book a "discreet but perceptive memoir" that delivered on the hope that Pound's friends and family would provide their perspectives on the man, whose literary accomplishment and status followed by his choices and

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

sympathies during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

had puzzled the American establishment. Darrach wrote that the book does not make sense of what was going on inside Pound's head, but through its scenes of family life it "helps explain his crusty heart".

Anatole Broyard Anatole Broyard (1920-1990) was an American writer, literary critic, and editor whose literary output spanned several decades. His ''oeuvre'' encompassed short stories, essays, and reviews. He was a prolific contributor to several literary maga ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote that the book's portrayal of life at the farm is more successful than its portrayal of Pound, but that it is fascinating to see Pound described as a father. He wrote that the book contains nothing about Pound's

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

, but gives glimpses of his monetary theories, and his idea that understanding "the nature of money" is a necessity for writing great poetry. Broyard wrote that Rachewiltz illuminates some obscure parts of ''The Cantos'', which refer to private events, and reveals how Pound increasingly treated ''The Cantos'' as a kind of diary. In ''

Modern Age The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500 ...

'',

Henry Regnery Henry Francis Regnery (1912–1996) was a conservative American publisher who founded the newspaper '' Human Events'' (1944) and the Henry Regnery Company (1947) and published Russell Kirk's classic work '' The Conservative Mind'' (1953).Jeff ...

called ''Discretions'' "a beautifully written, charming book which tells us much not only about the complex author of ''Indescretions'', but because of her place of observation in the middle of it all, much about our time as well".

References

External links

NDBooks
{{Ezra Pound 1971 non-fiction books Books about Ezra Pound Italian memoirs American memoirs Works about children