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POUND, Ezra. Seven typed letters signed ("Ezra Pound" or "EP"), Rapallo, 1927 (1) to Alfred A. Knopf, the others undated but circa late 1931 to Thoma. Together 11 pages, 4to, on Pound's Rapallo letterhead, red quarter morocco slipcase.
POUND AND PUBLISHING: "MAKE SURE THERE IS A PERMANENT MARKET. A typically vituperative correspondence from Pound. The earliest letter, to Alfred A. Knopf, dated 1 September 1927, discusses "news... that various of my books (prose) are out of print." Pound looks for ways of "taking advantage of the situation, and shoving off remaining Pavannes on those rare and discerning spirits who want 'a' book of mine."
The remaining letters to Thoma discuss their efforts at writing and principally the New Review. Pound offers little support at times for Thoma's writing: "this book of your [sic] is VERY bad" (2 Jan). Pound writes of potential submissions to the New Review, mentioning T. S. Eliot, William Carlos Williams, Louis Zukofsky, Wyndham Lewis and Sam Putnam. One letter requests that copies of the journal be sent to Dorothy Shakespear and Yeats, another asks "Whether there is anything EXCEPT Cocteau fit to import into this happy country ?? from Paris?"
Always concerned about the ability of publishers to get his work in print, Pound asks "Has Sam [Putnam] the capital to undertake my HOW TO READ and the vol. of [Robert] McAlmon's best stuff." Responding to criticism of his work, he writes "Once a thing is printed I can't be expected to sweat over it any further." A cogent bit of bookish advice is offered to Thoma in the letter dated 7 August: "I don't spose you want to run a bkshop forever. The main advice I wd. give you is to regard yourself more as an ambulent vendor. Try a fancy and varied stock; sell what you can and DON'T load up with a lot more until you make sure there is a permanent market."
POUND AND PUBLISHING: "MAKE SURE THERE IS A PERMANENT MARKET. A typically vituperative correspondence from Pound. The earliest letter, to Alfred A. Knopf, dated 1 September 1927, discusses "news... that various of my books (prose) are out of print." Pound looks for ways of "taking advantage of the situation, and shoving off remaining Pavannes on those rare and discerning spirits who want 'a' book of mine."
The remaining letters to Thoma discuss their efforts at writing and principally the New Review. Pound offers little support at times for Thoma's writing: "this book of your [sic] is VERY bad" (2 Jan). Pound writes of potential submissions to the New Review, mentioning T. S. Eliot, William Carlos Williams, Louis Zukofsky, Wyndham Lewis and Sam Putnam. One letter requests that copies of the journal be sent to Dorothy Shakespear and Yeats, another asks "Whether there is anything EXCEPT Cocteau fit to import into this happy country ?? from Paris?"
Always concerned about the ability of publishers to get his work in print, Pound asks "Has Sam [Putnam] the capital to undertake my HOW TO READ and the vol. of [Robert] McAlmon's best stuff." Responding to criticism of his work, he writes "Once a thing is printed I can't be expected to sweat over it any further." A cogent bit of bookish advice is offered to Thoma in the letter dated 7 August: "I don't spose you want to run a bkshop forever. The main advice I wd. give you is to regard yourself more as an ambulent vendor. Try a fancy and varied stock; sell what you can and DON'T load up with a lot more until you make sure there is a permanent market."