Pound/Ford: The Story of Literary Friendship

The friendship between Ezra Pound (1885-1972) and Ford Madox Ford (1873-1939) lasted for thirty years. It began in London in 1909, shortly after Pound’s arrival, continued in Paris, and was afterward maintained without ruptures, quarrels, or serious disagreements, their warm affection and loyalty holding them together through life’s vicissitudes, separation, and exile. Pound/Ford: The Story of a Literary Friendship documents, with letters as well as essays, reviews, and reminiscences––a considerable portion of which is published here for the first time––one of the most significant relationships in the development of modernism. Ford, the London man of letters, and Pound, his younger American contemporary, were united in their love for and knowledge of Mediterranean culture, their fierce dedication to literature, and their unselfish and tireless promotion of other writers––Lawrence, Joyce, Eliot, and Hemingway, to name just a few. Their influence upon each other was always eagerly acknowledged.