Unique individuals of fiery temperament, Ernest Hemingway and Ezra Pound made an odd pair on the streets of 1920s Paris. If the elder cane-carrying Pound appeared the out-of-date poet, Hemingway was the epitome of his generation’s Flaming Youth. Meeting on the high ground of art, these two literary giants formed a friendship that survived until Hemingway’s death. During their short time together in Paris, Pound edited Hemingway’s early work.
Over decades Hemingway considered Pound a major poet and read The Cantos as they appeared in little magazines and published volumes. Eventually living in countries half a world apart, Hemingway and Pound maintained a lively and sometimes contentious correspondence. When Pound was incarcerated in America for his World War II broadcasts over Radio Rome, Hemingway played a vital role in freeing his old poet friend—the man who edited his early work, the “good game guy” whose wit and brilliance he never forgot. This narrative of a friendship lays bare the triumphs and tragedies of two giants of modern literature.

Professional musician and author John Cohassey has written numerous biographical and cultural entries for Gale Research. He lives in Pontiac, Michigan.

John Cohassey
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 200
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2014
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7640-4
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1647-6
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments   ix
Preface   1
1. Crossing Paths in Paris   5
2. A Modernist Apprenticeship   16
3. Among Pound’s Constellation   22
4. Little Magazines   33
5. Transatlantic Paris   54
6. Ascendant Star, Poet Outlier   66
7. Fame and World Crisis   77
8. Friends on Different Shores   84
9. Two Voices, Two Men   94
10. United Fronts, Divided Friendships   104
11. Wordsmiths in Wartime   116
12. An Exile’s Return   134
13. “A good year to release poets”   142
Conclusion: The Snows of Yesteryear   159
Chapter Notes   163
Bibliography   177
Index   185

“The real value of Cohassey’s study lies in its recounting of the interactions that Pound and Hemingway had with each other, in person or by letter. Cohassey is excellent in describing their time together.”—The Hemingway Review.