Evening star., 1949-07-31

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congressman had their way. Re-
publican Representatives Javits of
New Yerk and Patterson of Con-
necticut have both come forward
with the suggestion that the full
scale investigation of the Bollin-
gen Award to Ezra Pound, which
they have called for, should in
volve summoning of the IL fel-
lows in American letters who
made up the jury and who have
since scattered to the four cor
ners of the world.
DR.. Luther Evans, librarian OF
the Library of Congress, under
whose auspices the award was
made last February, has advanced
a much more practical proposal.
He thinks it would be valuable
to meet with the Joint Committee
on the Library and thrash out
thoroughly the question Of wheth-
er it is a good idea for a Gov
ernment agency to grant prizes,
even with gift funds such as those
provided for the Bollingen Award.
No Intent to Reverse Award.
Both the representatives have
advocated revoking. the award,
but DR.. Evans, who at the time 1t
was made called it "an unfor-
tunate choice-hardly poetry at
all" declared firmly. I'VE have
no intention Of reversing the
Pound Award. There are now
only two issues involved. The
first is whether the Government
ought to engage in this sort of
operation. The second is whether
I with my power ought to change
the membership In the Fellows
group. I am perfectly willing to
discuss both issues with the Ii
brary Committee"
Il personally do not feel" he
went on, that they are members
of particular clique or preju-
diced group of literary critics. And
have no intention of firing any
one. But If the Joint Committee
were to decide that the group were
overloaded in any one direction.
should certainly consider the
addition of representatives OF diff
ferent schools Of poetry
They Have Read Enough.
Meanwhile the battle of the
Bollingen continues to rage on
ragged lines from the Potomac to
the Hudson. Neither Represent
ative Javits or Representative Pat
terson have read the "Pisan Can
tos" all the way through, but
both maintain that they have
sampled them sufficiently to get
the Theological climate
Says Mr.. Javits, II do not be-
lieve that. American letters are Sc
sterile that an award should be
given to a man accused of high
treason"
Mr.. Patterson whose constitu-
ents' letters set him on the trail
agrees that If the award were
revoked and we're to be made
again by the same jury, they
might come up with the same
choice. but says. Il would OBJ
| ject. would object strenuously.'
"The question" said Mr.. Javits,
"is not whether Ezra Pound Is q
fine man or an excellent artist.
He may be both. The question Is
whether the choice is or is not
consistent with the ideals upon
which the Library Of Congress
was founded"
Five Counts Against Pound.
Representative Javits was put
in touch with the situation
through q letter from his friend
Norman Cousins. editor Of the
Saturday Review of Literature,
which fired the shot heard around
the literary world on June IL,
with a piece by Poet Robert Hill
yer, who made many fiery charges
about Pound, the Fellows and the
award itself. Some of his charges
were retracted by SRI, but ever
since, its Letters to the Editor Col
umn has fairly bulged with pow
erful polemics from readers who
feel strongly one way or the other
In general they seem to take is
sue with the award for various
combinations Of five basic reasons:
That Pound is an avowed Fascist
that he is an anti-Semite. that
he has been adjudged insane. that
he has been indicted as traitor
that he is unintelligible to the
general reader.
The Partisan Review has been
carrying on a somewhat less heat
ed struggle since last May, when
Karl Shapiro, who disSented in
the choice, wrote GAS a Jew. !
cannot honor an anti-Semite. !
feel that the poets moral philos-
ophy ultimately vitiates his
poetry and lowers its standard as
literary work. Other letters to
the Partisan Review (they have
been about equally pro and COM
have complained that the award
represents a complete divorce OF
art and life. Robert Gorham
Davis, the critic, has suggested
that "the judges were Judging
themselves along with Pound
their master" Pound. in his
earlier years. was famous for his
encouragement of young poets
Use of Language Praised.
On the other hand. Allen Tate,
one of the Fellows in defending
his choice, wrote, "As a result OF
observing Pounds use Of Language
in the last 80 years, I had become