Doing our best

to introduce EZRA POUND into a ...

half savage country ?

As to Brasil

My dear E.P. your 1/2 wd. be too moderate

Nobel Eliot very much known here. But we suspect
scarcely read.

E.P. little known and literally not read.

Joyce not read cummings not read

Also working on the translation of a few "Cantos",
and "ABC of Reading" and "A Few Donts".

"E.P.: Beauty is difficult": would you accept it,
in spite of all possible errors, as humble homage from
the very young?

Letter, communications, "ORO E LAVORO" received.

How can we thank?

Excuse broken English (The couched Brazilian jaguar)

Pity the young.

NOIGANDRES
acampos - hcampos -
dpignatari
R.Cândido Espinheira,
635 - S.Paulo - BR

S.Paulo, 30/XII/55

Dear Mr. Pound,

The Brazilian Ministry of Education ( letter enclosed ), through
the Service of Cultural Diffusion, accepted our proposal of publishing a selection of the
<u>Cantos</u> translated into Portuguese, with an introduction, commentaries and bio-bibliography.
Cantos I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, XII, XIII, XLV and fragments of Cantos LXXIX, LXXX and L
will compose this non-commercial, bilingual edition to be distributed throughout Brazil to
universities and individuals interested in receiving it. We are now working on the revision
of these Cantos, which are already translated, and so hope the book will be published early
in the next year. It is absolutely necessary to us, however, to get an <u>expenseless</u> copyright,
since the edition will not be sold, but gratuitously distributed, like all the publications
from the Service of Cultural Diffusion.

Decio Pignatari, travelling through Europe "in search of Kulchur",
has been working with us, and very efficiently, though at distance: some translations, dis-
cussion of minor points, etc.. In Munich he met Eva Hesse, who whas very helpful to clear
some doubts of understanding. Now in Italy ( his ancestors' home ) Pignatari will try to
be with Mrs. Mary de Rachewiltz, whose excelent translations we already know.

CAN WE HOPE TO HEAR OF YOU SOON AS POSSIBLE? MAYBE WE NEED SOME
SUGGESTIONS? OR MANY?

We heard about an E.P.'s autobiography. Would be wise to print
it? How to get it?

"Vou" (Katue Kitasono), "Dichtung und Prosa" (Eva Hesse), "25
Dikter" (Lars Forsell), "Tre Cantos" (Mary de Rachewiltz), recd.: points of the periphery.

And "Section Rock-Drill - 85/95 de los Cantares", sent by Vanni
Scheiwiller, "per conta di Pound" :- How can we thank you?

Brazilian newspapers seems to be more conscious of E.P.'s case(<u>ca</u>
<u>ge</u>?) : "Folha da Tarde", 24-XII-55 - news from Washington (ANSA), under the title: "THE GREA-
TEST NORTH-AMERICAN POET LIVES IN A MANICOMY, THOUGH HAVING A SOUND MIND". We enclose, too,
"PONTOS DEFINEM UMA PERIFERIA", a blast versus this great crime against Culture.

at augusto de campos

haroldo de campos

haroldo de campos - r. dr. franco da rocha, 232 - s. paulo - BRASIL

S.Paulo, 5/4/57

Dear Mr. Pound,

Work done. We delivered the translations ( 17 Cantos ) to the *Minis-
tério* last month. An exhibit: CANTO XXX, published by JORNAL DO
BRASIL ( whose literary supplement is the best and more read one in
the country, presently ). Footnote signed by Mário Faustino, a young
poet from Pará, North of Brazil, now living in Rio de Janeiro, who,
through his page "POETRY - EXPERIENCE" is preaching poundian methods
as the only way-out from marasmic literary habits in Brathill.

We are doing too a lot of activist literary job, through exhibitions,
lectures, interviews: sanitarist aims. Mental higienics.

Introduction - POUND PAIDEUMA - intended as a blast gegen academic
scholastic views of E.P.'s work. The CANTOS - to the young poets -
more than ever "an awareness che funge".

Ministry will publish, in the same collection ( giant format ), e.e.
cummings (10 poems translated by a.campos). Working now in some sam-
ples of "Finneganswake". Future project: "Un coup de dés" into porta-
goose. The complete quadrant.

CANTO XXX ( the Ignez de Castro & D.Pedro theme ) sent to Fernando
Guedes, Lisbon. "Graal" mag ( Portugal ), December 1956 published
"CONCRETE OR IDEOGRAMMIC POETRY", by Pignatari, with a note on E.P.
Fenollosa study re ideogram & Einsenstein re ideogram /montage pro-
grammed for publication in Jorn. do Brasil.

noigandres

h. campos

a. campos

d. pignatari

Have you received NOIGANDRES 3, AD mag, and
the material concerning 1st NATIONAL EXHIBITION OF CON-
CRETE ART?

Friendly yours,

Dear Mr. Pound,

Copies of "Jornal do Brasil" page enclosed.

Gomringer, from Ulm, "Hohschule für Gestaltung", will send you his "Konstellationen", and English translation of "Técnica do Poema".

Augusto spent, last month, a week in Rio de Janeiro, and urged the work of impression of translated "CANTARES"; also 10 poems of cummings in phase of printing. We wait for very soon first proofs.

Prof. Ryozo Iwasaki "Selected Paundo-Poems" received. I am beggining to study (together with Pignatari) some Japanese, at S.Paulo's Brazilian-Japanese Cultural Center, aiming at a more definitive knowledge about ideogram (kangi) method and possibilities: Fenolosa & E.P. instigations. It proved impossible to find here, in the moment, a teacher of Chinese. Of course, our rudimentary Jap not reached Prof Ryozo's text.

/ a few months ago
Spanish Pisanos not received. I have written to J.V.Amaral via Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, Box 622 (adres supplied by "Pound Newsletter"), but, until now, have no answer. Since this translation is of particular interest to our group, i recur, once more, to your kind help.

Active contact made with Fernando Guedes, whose address reached us through your letter of Jan 29: Guedes a young portagoose poet really alive and creative. Wrote about our concrete poetry in "Diário Ilustrado", of Lisbon ("A poetic experiment in Brazil").

Concrete/ideogrammic poetry aroused considerable enthusiasm among young poets throughout Brazil. Besides S.Paulo & Rio, in Fortaleza (Capital of Ceará - NE State) an exhibition was hold. Pound/cummings/Mallarmé/Joyce discussed on literary supplement of "Unitário" (Fortaleza's chief newspaper). Echoes in Maranhão & Pará (North States). Minas Gerais (center State) asks for a concrete exhibition and lectures.

Fighting for a "new subtlety of eyes" & mind.

noigandres
h. campos
a. campos
d. pignatari

also, enclosed, 5 copies of recently published CANTO I translation.

Dear Mr. Pound:

Brazilian edition of "Cantares", although official, means only
that in charge of Cultural Diffusion Dept. we find a man of good
will and reasonably open mind, who accepted our proposal, making
possible the work ( he has some autonomy within his field ). Of
course, this does not implies that Brazilian authorities will take
positive initiatives like the invitation you've mentioned.

On the other hand, simple divulgation of your wish to come here
and teach literature would certainly arise considerable interest
among Brazilian writers, the young specially.

So, as far as we can see, the best way of getting some effective
results on the matter of yr last letter would be the following: divul-
gation, through some newspaper or literary magazine, of a document
(the letter you've sent us, or any other writing you find more fit
to the circumstances), expressing your wish to come and inhabit
and lecture on literature.

On this basis, a movement of opinion cd be started, aiming at the
invitation, on pure cultural grounds - as you too seems to wish.
Intellectuals of prestige before Brazilian authorities cd perhaps
be enrolled in it.

Though we do not subscribe yr political ideas - but, on the con-
trary, have fundamental objections to them - we do not think they
can be judged by slogans, and refuse to admit they can be used as
pretext to ignore the capital importance of your work and aesthe-
tical views and actions. Your presence in Brazil - at this moment,
when a new formal awareness of poetry is in progress - would be of
the greatest pedagogical relevance: to no other living poet the
pragmatics of a new poetic making owns so much.

Of course, we'll await for yr agreement, before taking any ini-
tiative.

noigandres

h. campos

a. campos

d. pignatari

s.paulo, 10/3/58

PS: The publication of some translated Cantares, via Jornal do Brasil, our activities around your aesthetic ideas, as well as the paralell work of Mário Faustino, a young poet, friend of ours, who directs poetry page of J. do Br., created a considerable interest on your work and situation. Yet, recently, an interview, originally published by *Il Tempo*, was reprinted here, with negative repercussion, because of some ideas, attributed to you, concerning the negroes. Esquire - September '57, has something about John Kasper, racist leader, who claims for connections with E.P.. Cd you send us a word about all this matter?

Dear Mr. Pound:

We are sending you, enclosed, a clipping of the *manifesto* we made,
concerning yr release and yr possible visit to Brazil. The stuff was
already composed and about to be published in "JORNAL DE LETRAS" (nation-
wide literary monthly), when reached us the good news. So, the main
goal of the manifesto was attained, even before its issue. Possibilities
of invitation remained: but the Ministry of Education & official intelli-
gentzia kept silence. On the other hand, the fuss around all the matter
gave fresh impulse to translated CANTARES' edition - we received, promptly,
third proofs we were almost despairing to dig out ( buried under bureau-
cratic dust...).

More we were not able to do, mostly because we've lost our main vehicle of action, i.e.: "JORNAL DO BRASIL", on account of ethical and aesthetic disagreements ( including sudden asinine attacks on E.P.'s work, from J.B. Literary Supplement's editor ). Yet, Mario Faustino still holds his position ("POETRY / EXPERIMENT" page ), - now publishing his eighth article on Pound's achievement, as antidote gegen editor's squalor ( in the same Supplement ).

NOIGANDRES 4: concrete poetry now reaching its *precise definition*. Kanji-fication of thought. How does E.P. receive our radical-personal use ("vision in motion") of ideogram concept - *esto visibile parlare* - against *discorso* ? Besides word-key to the poems, we tried to do some tentative arrangements, hoping to give you a more definite idea of our experiments. Recently, KITASONO KATUE, answering to NOIGANDRES 3, sent us his "tanchona kukan" ("monotony of void space") - VOU, n.58/November 57, which presents greater affinities to our work than any other poet's experiments, except young Eugen Gomringer's "KONSTELLATIONEN". An anthology, "KONKRETE POESIE", is about to be issued, by Gomringer ( now living in "Hochschule für Gestaltung", ULM ), including poems of all "Noigandres".

As far as space intervenes -
E.P. joins le JEU DE DÉS. - Have you heard of 75 Stravinsky paying his
compliments to WEBERN (Anton), the Mallarmé of Viennese-trinity? - "Lors
d'un périple en Europe, après la fin de la guerre, qu'il a passée en
**noigandres** Amérique, Igor Stravinsky est allé en Autriche, se ré-
h. **campos** cueillir sur la tombe de Webern, le plus mystérieux,
a. **campos** le plus secret, le moins connu des disciples de Schoenbe
**d. pignatari**

2

Or: (Boulez dixit )- "Stravinsky est à genoux devant Webern" ( 6 pieces by Webern precede Stravinsky's AGON première, 11/10/57, salle Pleyel, aux concerts"Le Domaine Musical", - for neo-classic despair of Stvsk's morthodox epigones &/or"acolittles"). **The arrow has not 2 points -**

Such a dialectical power of making new, cd not induce us to figure - "sans présumer de l'avenir..." ..."since a positive evidence is not possible" - E.P. throwing dice with Mallaimé? Lawrence Ferlinghetti ( from Frisco "Bitch"-Generation ), in *Pound Newsletter* 10, pg. 17, got the right problem ( "This is where Pound comes in; or, rather, where he goes out. He ventriloquized history in the *Cantos*, with *Rock-Drill* in particular; and poets who have followed Pound down the years now find themselves in an *impasse*. For *Rock Drill* is incapable of being *spoken* comprehensibly. The *Cantos* end as a complete palimpsest of ideographs. And the ideograph must be seen to be heard."),

drawing the wrong conclusion ( a regressive, _melodorous_ one )

/ for concrete poetry, precisely, also wants to be ( consequent and prospectively ) a poetry that must be seen to be heard.

space + _gists_ & _piths_ ( reductions form reductions, iris of light, lumina / the matter of yr Paradiso ) = CANTAR BASICO

and _therefore_ _tending_

akiraka

crystal / clear things

3 times _sun_

CODA:

Watching ole Ez do a Basic Canto

SPaulo / -8-58

NOIGANDRES

Adult readers will naturally be more interested
in the writing of men who have something to say than in
attempts to dress up a cliche in some fancy style
that will catch attention.

In view of guidance departments, the infamy of the press in the
accident, the almost total absence of success h in
obscuring history, as from 2000 b.c. down to the
Nurnberg Trials, and thence onward,

there would appear to be
greater need of clear statement of the 17
historic facts which the sons of hell are the employers of
billionsof $ to hide,

than in continuation of experiments,
started ably by Mellaime with a pure heart, but
gone to seed and epigony in the later wanderings of
J.Joyce, to say nothing of the snohism and trash that
clotted about his declining years in the decaying
centre of a France that had betrayed Tallyrand and Thiers.

Dear h.deC. hope this is tough enough.

am sending the Amaral Cantares, registered, slow.

am fora forwarding yr/ letter to Harald.
1 Berkeley House, 67 Belsize Rd.

London n.w. 6
Eng;and.

makewaht you can of the epigon of Frobenius, Heidigger,
etc. but dont mistake it for the most NEEDED kind of
writing at this time. Experiment is useful and has its place
AND TIME.

A new content will ( ref/ R. de Gourmont ) impose a new form.
the new form cannot rise without it. Nothing tainted with
Freudand co, can be of the least bloody use.

Brain wash, tosh, the N.American universities, all beneath
human contempt.

Impossible to remember what I may have read/ in Washington. and no
time to examine aesthetic experiment.

[1959]

Dear Mr. Pound:

Thank you for yr last letter. Indeed we prefer to engage ourselves in a
fighting dialogue rather than ventriloquize before a living Buda.

Orthodoxy is a kind of hypnosis ( all the dilutive "he said" young american amoeboid poets from Origin, Evergreen Review, and so on ).

We believe, rather, that a new form creates a new content. Or better: that
there is a dialectical, isomorphic relation between form & content. The
artisanal cycle of poetry is closed with the monumental apex of THE CANTOS.
No way out for ersatz products. A new poetry coheres with a new era and
its peculiar physiognomy. Ours is a progressively rational and characteris-
tically technical one. Concrete poems operate in various levels: - in the
linguistical level, criticizing the "morose delectation", the mannerism of
verse; rescuing so-called semantical clichés from the hibernation of habit;
bringing words to new ways of action and interaction; - in the psychologi-
cal one, rejecting subjective catharsis ("the swarms of inarticulate fee-
lings" ) and promoting objective, immediate communication, direct aprehen-
sion of structures ( there can be, also, even a participating level, with
greater efficacy and contension than cd afford the consuete, oratorial
routines: coca-cola is an exhibit, aiming at realization of Mayakovsky's
claims for a kind of propaganda that cd be, at the same time, poetry in
a high degree ). To fight for order, against subjective mystic-hedonistic
alienation, the luxuriant extremes of individualistic metaphor, the diar-
rhoea of rethoric, the refined cerimonial of verse ( free-verse included ),
- against all forms of entropy, this is our way of being engaged in the
language and with our era. Construction is the message and the task of
the young. And a new form, a drastic condensation of means, plus an osti-
nato rigore of control working upon the data of sensibility conveys it.
Whatever the parcels of truth in yr most peculiar culturvision, the fact
is we acknowledge it not by its trueness, but by its form. So, as we firm-
ly believe, the greatest, permanent message of THE CANTOS' major poetry
is its own way of dealing with language, its ending in a "progressive
palimpsest of ideographs", - an artizanal monument, filled with fragments
of discursive thought, but, nevertheless, a monument to ideographic unders-
tanding. And here, by a commodious vicus of recirculation, LOS CANTARES

join forces with UN COUP DE DÉS, and Mallarmé's pre-
monition - qui sortira d'ici, rien ou presque un art
- becomes an actual program.

noigandres

h. campos

a. campos

d. pignatari

2

Have you heard about Stravinsky's "Canticum Sacrum"? About his "Threni / id est: Lamentationes Jeremiae Prophetae"? His "Variations sur un cho-ral de J.S.Bach"? - Webern, yes, Webern moves in the background. And Boris de Schloezer presided with open mind at La Première Décade Inter-nationel de Musique Expérimentale (1953), where the main theme was the concrete-electronic music, which undoubtedly wd interest the Antheil from Ballet Mécanique ( now, unfortunately lost in a commercial phase of neo-classic vulgarization ) and, of course, a Värèse, this rare example of faithfulness to invention in American music .

The experiments in colour of the last Matisse ( some papiers collés en couleur of the last years, see - VERVE, number devoted to the painter ) emulate José Albers' concrete "Homage to the Square" series. An active handling of visual problems, not a mere delivering of new-faced Madonnas and pseudo-chinese-egyptian masks, as, for instance, by a vague, almost academic La Martinelli. And Max Bill's sculpture maintains the living tradition of Brancusi's eggs and columns, that "approach to the infinite not by hypnosis, but by form, by precisely the highest possible degree of consciousness of formal perfection".

---Alan Neame wrote to us, from London, sending poems ( plain rerendering , at his best, of Laforgue's via E.P. & Possum colloquial-ironical vers de société ). We received, too, the Spanish Pisanos: many thanks. ---By the way, Gillo Dorfles ("Discorso tecnico delle arti", Trieste Universi-ty) has made a fine rendering of the spatial dimension in yr CANTOS.--

/ But Kitasono Katue gave us a living response - tanchona kukan / monony of void space

1
white square
inside of
white square
inside of
yellow square
inside of
yellow square
inside of
black square
inside of
black square
inside of
white square
inside of
white square

2
white
within white
within yellow
within yellow
within black
within black
within white
within white