EPIC 29-Kyoto: International Poundian Forum. (The 29th Ezra Pound International Conference “Ezra Pound and Friendship”, Kyoto, Japan, June 24–26, 2022)

Abstract

The article provides an overview of the 29th international conference “Ezra Pound and Friendship.” The conference was held at Kyoto University from June 24 to June 26, 2022, virtually. The conference was attended by researchers from fifteen countries, including scholars from the USA, Germany, France, Japan, China, Great Britain, Russia (Lomonosov Moscow State University). Two crucial themes of the conference related to (1) Pound's friendships and (2) the Asian, in particular the Japanese dimension in the work of the American poet did not limit its participants in their choice of material. The papers presented at the conference were distinguished by an extraordinary thematic diversity, which made it possible to construct a global context to study Pound. During the conference, a number of papers touched upon Pound's friendship with W.B. Yeats, E. Hemingway, T.S. Eliot, A. Gaudier-Brzeska, B. Banting, Katsuo Kitasono. Several panels were dedicated to Pound's interactions with his younger pen friends. The very concept of friendship in Pound's work, the specificity of its perception by the poet and its closeness to the Neoplatonic, Provencal, Confucian traditions was discussed. A number of speakers turned to the “Cantos” and methods for their study. One of the most important features of the conference was its focus not only on the study of Pound's poetry, but also on the poetry of contemporary authors: according to the established tradition, the closing panel of the conference was dedicated to poetry readings and subsequent discussion.