Ezra Pound

This third and final volume of Wilhelm's life of Ezra Pound commences with Pound's departure from Paris at the height of his writing career for Italy, where he hoped to find a quieter life, and it takes him to his death in 1972. It tells of Pound's foolish support of the fascists during World War II and his subsequent incarceration by the Allies in a camp where he wrote some of his finest poetry, The Pisan Cantos. Wilhelm chronicles Pound's escape from being tried for treason on the grounds of insanity only to be remanded o St. Elizabeths Hospital for twelve years. Pound ultimately returned to Italy, where he died in 1972.

Part of Wilhelm's strength as a biographer is his deep immersion in Pound's poetry and prose, as well as his knowledge of the complexities of the publishing history of Pound's work. Wilhelm quotes extensively from Pound's poetry, with many illuminating comments on the biographical background on the Cantos. He also discusses Pound's influence on an entire generation of poets ranging from Robert Lowell to Allen Ginsberg.