Following the pattern established by his three immediately preceding collections Pound called this volume
Ripostes of Ezra Pound. There is a playful distinction, I think, between this and the more obvious title format of “
Ripostesby Ezra Pound”, just making possible the idea that this Ezra Pound is a fictive persona whose ripostes are compiled by some otherwise anonymous writer. Like those other collections,
Personae,
Exultationsand
Canzoni, this rather postmodern subtlety is lost in common titular usage.
Riposteswas published in 1912 by Swift and Co., a firm which, despite going rather swiftly bankrupt, provided Pound with a fair, though temporary, reward for his efforts. The title page rather pompously heralds the inclusion of “The Complete Poetical Works Of T. E. Hulme”, a…
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Citation: Wilson, Peter. "Ripostes of Ezra Pound". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 September 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2386, accessed 23 November 2024.]