Ezra Pound forever changed the course of poetry. The author of a vast body of literature, his enormous range of references and use of multiple languages make him one of the most obscure authors and—because of his Fascism, anti-Semitism, and questionable sanity—one of the most controversial. This encyclopedia is a concise yet comprehensive guide to his life and writings. Included are more than 250 alphabetically arranged entries on such topics as Arabic history, Chinese translation, dance, Hilda Doolittle, Egyptian literature, Robert Frost, and Pound's publications. The entries are written by roughly 100 expert contributors and cite works for further reading. Ezra Pound forever changed the course of poetry. His vast body of poetry and critical works make him one of the 20th century's most prolific writers, and his influence has shaped later poets, great and small. His enormous range of references, deliberate obscurity, and use of multiple languages make him one of the most difficult authors and— because of his Fascism, anti-Semitism, and questionable sanity—one of the most controversial figures in American literary history. This encyclopedia is a concise yet comprehensive guide to his life and writings.

Despite the painstaking work of Pound scholars, the "mythos" of "The Cantos" has yet to be properly understood -- primarily because until now its occult sources have not been examined sufficiently. Drawing upon archival as well as recently published material, this study traces Pound's intimate engagement with specific occultists (W.B. Yeats, Allen Upward, Alfred Orage, and G.R.S. Mead) and their ideas. The author argues that speculative occultism was a major factor in the evolution of Pound's extraordinary aesthetic and religious sensibility, much noticed in Pound criticism.

The discussion falls into two sections. The first section details Pound's interest in particular occult movements. It describes the tradition of Hellenistic occultism from Eleusis to the present, and establishes that Pound's contact with the occult began at least as early as his undergraduate years and that he came to London already primed on the occult. Many of his London acquaintances were unquestionably occultists.

The second section outlines a tripartite schema for "The Cantos" ("katabasis/dromena/epopteia") which, in turn, is applied to the poem. It is argued here that "The Cantos" is structured on the model of a initiation rather than a journey, and that the poem does not so much describe an initiation rite as enact one for the reader.

In exploring and attempting to understand Pounds' occultism and its implications to his Pounds'] oeuvre, Tryphonopoulos sheds new light upon one of the great works of modern Western literature.

"The introduction offers what will prove to be one of the most nuanced understandings of H.D.'s engagement with the occult and spiritualism to date, and the carefully researched notes will aid scholars and readers tremendously as they make their way through the novel's complexities."--Lara Vetter, University of North Carolina, Charlotte "An indispensable prose companion to H.D.'s poetic masterpiece, "Trilogy," as well as the later, darker "The Sword Went Out to Sea." Tryphonopoulos provides a nuanced, scholarly context for readers to appreciate the significance of H.D.'s dazzling late-life oeuvre."--Cynthia Hogue, Arizona State University Set during the World War II air raids in London, H.D.'s fascinating and visionary novel, "Majic Ring," documents her spiritualist activities during this time. Never before published, the work offers a hybrid pastiche of autobiographical, fictional, and epistolary modes of writing. This annotated edition of "Majic Ring" presents important information about H.D.'s personal history, her heterodox interests, and her notions about the creative process itself. It also includes much on the source material for "Trilogy," her well-known three-part poem on the experience of the blitz. In fact, the publication of this novel will change radically the way we read "Trilogy," and will alter profoundly the way we view modernism, the creative process, and women's literary production during mid-century. H.D. (born Hilda Doolittle, 1886-1961) was an American writer who exerted enormous influence on modernist poetry and prose. Demetres P. Tryphonopoulos is, university research professor of English and associate dean of the school of graduate studies at the University of New Brunswick.