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Studying poet Ezra Pound is not easy. Presenting a paper – as an undergraduate – to some 25 Pound scholars from around the world is not easy. In fact, it can be incredibly intimidating.

But four Colgate students were selected to do just that at a recent conference jointly hosted by Colgate and Hamilton College.

The students – Jasmine Bailey ’05, Ellen Mittelholzer ’05, Greg Beyer ’06, and Lucas Meeker  ’07 – “comported themselves with dignity” and, by presenting imaginative and serious work, impressed those in attendance, said Michael Coyle, professor of English at Colgate. 

“The scholars received their work generously and were really interested. I’ve never been more proud of Colgate students,” said Coyle, who along with Steven Yao, professor of English at Hamilton, organized the conference held April 28 to May 1.

The four students were selected to present after a review of papers by Gail McDonald, an English professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro who wrote “Learning to be Modern: Pound, Eliot, and the American University.”

McDonald was joined at the conference by scholars from throughout the United States and from China, Greece, France, England, Canada, and Russia.

Poet Ezra Pound is seen in this 1913 photo. (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

Coyle and Yao organized the conference, “Ezra Pound and Education,” to mark the centennial of Pound’s graduation from Hamilton College in 1905. About 20 other Colgate students audited sessions and poetry readings, which were held on both campuses.

For Beyer, who was in Coyle’s Modernist Poetry course this past semester, the chance to present his paper, a Marxist analysis of Pound’s poem “Portrait d'une Femme,” was not only a great academic exercise but a valuable experience in public speaking.

“I've certainly done my share of papers and presentations at Colgate, but I appreciated the opportunity to present them in a more formal academic setting,” said Beyer. “It's an experience I hope to repeat because I'm hoping to develop those skills that will be required of me in whatever I go on to do after Colgate.”

Mittelholzer approached her paper, which focused on Pound's translation of "Clair de Lune" by French poet Paul Verlaine (1844-1896), from an interdisciplinary perspective.

A French major, she had taken several English courses with Coyle. She spent her final semester working closely with Marshall Olds ’72, a visiting professor in the Department of Romance Languages and Literature.

Olds took time outside his normal office hours to work with Mittelholzer on her paper, even though it wasn’t for his course. Coyle helped all the students with their papers, but did not do any final proofing, having them submit directly to the seminar leader.

“If you had interviewed me in the beginning of the semester I would not have been able to imagine doing such a comparative lit project between English and French, never mind having the courage to present my paper in front of a room of ‘Pound-philes’ from around the globe,” said Mittelholzer.

“My ability to participate so confidently in such a colloquium says a lot about the level of a Colgate education.”

Mittelholzer will be pursuing a master’s degree in French in the fall, and she said that presenting her paper in such a setting was an invaluable experience.
 
Meeker, a sophomore, is an aspiring playwright. He seized on the chance to write about Pound’s translation of Sophocles’ play, “Elektra.”

In his paper, he challenges the themes of the play as expressed by Carey Perloff, an acclaimed playwright and director who directed the world premiere of “Elektra” for the Classic Stage Company in New York City.

Meeker said laying out his argument and having it well received at the conference was “great for my academic confidence.”

“It was really interesting to see how these conferences work, and it was really interesting to gain some insight into how widespread Pound’s influence was,” he said.

The conference proved to be a learning experience for Coyle and other Pound scholars, as well.

Coyle said that Bailey, who wrote about one of Pound’s most famous poems – "River Merchant's Wife: a Letter” – discovered that it was written as a double sonnet.
 
“I had never noticed that the poem unfolds as a double sonnet; neither had anyone else at the conference,” said Coyle.
 
One of Colgate’s 2005 Fulbright fellows, Bailey will travel in a few months to Argentina, where she will spend a year teaching. On her return she plans to pursue graduate study in English, and her experience at the Pound conference should help prepare her for that.

During the conference, her paper attracted the attention of several scholars who thought it worthy of being published.

“That was very impressive,” said Coyle.
 
In fact, Coyle said all of the students’ work impressed him.

“These students did this for no real reward, except for the experience. I do think this is the kind of thing that a place like Colgate can do that a typical university can’t. We can give our kids these kinds of special opportunities,” said Coyle.

The bulk of Colgate’s financial contribution toward the conference came from an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant.

Coyle had approached Jill Tiefenthaler, associate dean of the faculty, last year and explained how the conference was going to focus on Pound and education.

”We wanted to bring people in to talk about how we might think about teaching Pound –  his work is really difficult, why we think it’s important to teach him, and what Pound himself had to say about education.

“She immediately said the university had received this grant, and we can do this for you. I’m not sure what we would have done if that grant money wasn’t available,” said Coyle. “Tiefenthaler’s readiness to back the project exemplifies Colgate’s ongoing commitment to scholarship.”