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The Independence of Art
| Article
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14414 |
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Section : |
EDITORIAL
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| Issue
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6 / 1988 |
874 Words |
| Author
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Morton A. Kaplan
Editor and Publisher |
Modernism in literature, the theme taken up in Currents in Modern Thought in this issue, illustrates the independence of art from the contrivances of politicians. It also alerts us to the need to protect the independence of artists from those who would impose political constraints on them, for not all great artists are of good character or hold responsible political views.
Who, reading Hugh Kenner's marvelous analysis of Ezra Pound's poetry, can fail to recognize the artistic genius, the subtlety, and the reach of mind of Pound? Yet Pound was pro-fascist, anti-Semitic, and basically ignorant of economics and society. If his mad views occasionally resulted in the poetic deterioration of some of the later Cantos, even there the genius of Pound still produced bursts of poetic beauty that resonated with great themes from the vast heritage of Western and Oriental civilization.
Even though one might not have wanted to invite Pound to one's cocktail parties, was there not unseemly pettiness, even perhaps mean-spiritedness, in incarcerating him in an insane asylum after the war? I am not recommending that great artists be freed from responsibility or accountability. But Pound had committed no crimes against humanity. His service to the enemy did not approach Jane Fonda's. He was no physical threat to himself or others. He had no political following. His sin was primarily that of giving vent to contemptible beliefs and of supporting fascist Italy during the war. He was a great cultural treasure. Would it not have been sufficient to hold him at arm's length?
Pound was neither the first nor will he be the last great artist to hold contemptible
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