Michael Johnson on 'The Ezra Pound Problem'

How does Ted Nugent connect to Ezra Pound? Read Michael's essay. Creative Commons photo, source. 

When A Non-Euclidian Perspective came out, I noted that it contained what I thought was the best RAW essay yet on how to deal with Ezra Pound's art and politics. More recently, I mentioned Pound while talking about Poul Anderson.

Michael Johnson references both that classic RAW essay and my Poul Anderson posting in what I think is one of his best Substack pieces, "The Ezra Pound Problem." 

Here is how Michael formulates the problem:

The Ezra Pound Problem in General: that conundrum faced by any of us when confronted by a favorite artist’s bad behavior, whatever it was. We make ongoing negotiations with this.

The Ezra Pound Problem in Particular: What any of us who like Ezra Pound’s work does with his ugliness. I’m mostly interested in what other poets and writers have thought about this, and some critics who seem compellingly informed.

Rather than trying to summarize what else Michael writes, I'll just suggest that everyone read it. 

In one of his footnotes  (Michael puts good stuff in the foornotes, you have to read them too, maybe his little homage to The Widow's Son?), Michael writes, " RAW had, by 1968, been reading Pound closely for 20 years. Anderson’s mistakes didn’t stand a chance with him. Are we all like this?"

Yes, I think so. I suspect that Wilson fell in love with Pound's poetry before he learned much about Pound's politics. I know I felt really blown away by Poul Anderson's Tau Zero, a hard science fiction novel with little emphasis on politics, and I think that left me open to being able to tolerate Anderson's mistakes and lesser moments. (If you have read a lot of science fiction, you can't help but notice that many science fiction writers, including many of my favorites, are decidedly inconsistent in quality, as compared to, say, Vladimir Nabokov, who to my knowledge never wrote a lousy book. This may be because many SF writers to stay alive had to write very quickly. Roger Zelazny is one of my favorites, but I'm not going to recommend To Die in Italbar to you. I once heard Zelazny say that after he quit his day job  to be a full time writer, he had to write many books in order to make a living, but that every few books would be a "bear down" book that got his full attention. So Anderson sometimes putting out mediocre stuff doesn't make him stand out in the genre.) 

BTW: One of the points Michael seems to document is that RAW did his best thinking about Pound in that early essay, and his discussion of Pound apparently deteriorated through the decades. 

'Non-Euclidean' in 'Reason' magazine

 

Reason magazine, in the March issue, publishes a review of A Non-Euclidean Perspective: Robert Anton Wilson’s Political Commentaries 1960-2005.

The short piece by Brian Doherty, a noted historian of libertarianism, begins, "The works of Robert Anton Wilson, especially the Illuminatus! trilogy, were an alternative path to libertarianism, in the late 20th century. His influence has been less appreciated than that of his fellow novelist Ayn Rand, whose apodictic certainty based in ancient Greek philosophy he hilariously lampooned via the made-up novel discussed within Illuminatus!, Telemachus Sneezed."

There isn't a posting yet at the Reason website I can link to, but Rasa has posted it on Facebook. 

RAW Semantics on globalism and Scandinavian systems

Artwork by Brian Dean at RAW Semantics 

RAW Semantics has a new blog post up, "RAW political #5 – global / local / po," which further wrestles with RAW's politics in the light of the new book. Some of it discusses globalism versus local control, but there is also an interesting section which suggests how to reconcile Robert Anton Wilson's praise for Scandinavian style social democracy with RAW's interest in anarchism. One excerpt: 

"Returning to anarchy for a moment – if you see anarchism in terms of no government, no tax (and perhaps no regulations), then RAW’s liking for the Swedish model seems to contradict his anarchist ideals. But if you think of anarchist societies as decentralised, egalitarian, cooperative, communicating in flatter hierarchies, etc, then the seeming contradiction dissolves. Even the anarchistic preference for contracts – voluntary agreements rather than top-down enforcement – factors historically in the Swedish model (eg resulting from a relative absence of both feudalism and tyrants as kings).

"The Scandinavian system has succeeded on a large (national) scale over decades, unlike the mostly unimplemented alternative systems RAW held as anarchist ideals. From that POV, it looks “global” next to, say, the 120-person voluntary-contractual community. But next to the international Neoliberal order, it looks (or looked) 'local' – an eccentric exception to universal 'laws'. The Scandinavian countries finally had to adapt to some global shifts (eg changes to international financial markets), but even before those periods (eg 1990s) they were never really insulated from the 'inexorable forces of the market'. On the contrary – Sweden, for example, had to export 40% of its manufactured output and had been, since the late 19th century, 'a world economy highly exposed to trends in international trade.'

"You can see the Swedish model as workable on both local and global levels. At least for that type of culture."

The two newest Hilaritas Books seem to complement each other

 

The two newest books out from Hilaritas Press, the publishing imprint of the Robert Anton Wilson trust, seem to complement each other, so that someone interested in one book likely would find the other one interesting, too. This is probably coincidence, rather than the deliberate intent of Rasa and the other editors, but it seems like a fair observation.

A Non-Euclidean Perspective: Robert Anton Wilson’s Political Commentaries 1960-2005, a Robert Anton Wilson anthology and the newest Hilaritas title, concentrates on politics, as the title says. Every Day is a GOOD Day, the Robert Shea anthology I edited released in September, is not ostensibly a politics book, but it has many essays on anarchism and a description of Shea's participation in an antiwar march in Chicago.

Both books have many pieces on anarchism. Both have a strong antiwar tone. Both have an essay on Ayn Rand. The Wilson book has a whole essay on nonvoting and the Shea book has short piece advocating nonvoting. 

There is also some actual overlap. "Anarchism and Crime," the piece I speculated the other day might be an outtake from Illuminatus!, is reprinted on both books.

Of course, there are obvious differences in the books by the  two Illuminatus! co-author. Shea is consistently an anarchist and Wilson is rather all over the place. They even acknowledge that about each other, Wilson in the "Illuminating Discord" interview, Shea in the acceptance speech after winning the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award for Illuminatus! 

The RAW Semantics blog has a post on Non-Euclidian, while Michael Johnson reviewed Every Day is a GOOD Day at his Substack. 

Steve Fly still wants to go to Siberia

 

A freight train on the Trans Siberian Railway runs next to Lake Baikal. (Creative Commons photo). 

The new Robert Anton Wilson book just out from Hilaritas, A Non-Euclidean Perspective: Robert Anton Wilson's Political Commentaries 1960-2005, includes an interview of RAW by Steve "Fly" Pratt. I was intrigued by this bit:

FLY: Yeah, I'm thinking of moving to Siberia.

RAW: You've moving to Siberia? That's not such a bad idea. I thought about moving to Amsterdam.

FLY: I found the city of Amsterdam to be one of the more liberal-thinking cities of Europe. 

This is not the most important question, ever, but I wondered: Why did Fly want to move to Siberia? (He is quite the world traveler, but Siberia?) Why did RAW think it was not a bad idea? So I finally just asked. I emailed Steve: "I am curious why  you wanted to move to Siberia. Did you ever get to at least visit?"

Steve replied, "No, I didn't visit siberia, yet. I'm romantic for tuvan throat singing, would love to take the trans siberia express.... Some day. Write all the way."

Here is my most recent interview with Steve, it links to a couple of others. 

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, even if you haven't made your dream trip yet. 

Did Bobby Campbell find a bit cut from 'Illuminatus!'?

In the comments for my Nov. 19 post, about the documents Bobby Campbell posted after going through the Ed Sanders papers at Princeton University's library special collections,  Jesse Walker posts a question about "Hodge Podge," a three page document written by Mordecai Malignatus, i.e. RAW. 

Jesse asked, "Is "Hodge Podge" one of the cut bits from Illuminatus!?

"(It is certainly the first place I've ever seen Robert Anton Wilson make a Merle Haggard reference. My worlds collide!)"

When I read it, it certainly seemed possible to me that it was a bit cut from Illuminatus!. 

I had the same question about "Anarchism and Crime," an essay featured in both the new Robert Anton Wilson book, A Non-Euclidean Perspective: Robert Anton Wilson’s Political Commentaries 1960-2005, and in Every Day is a GOOD Day, the new Robert Shea anthology. 

It was published in Green Egg magazine on May 1, 1974. It is attributed to both Wilson and Shea, which itself seems suggestive, and the date made me wonder if it became available after it was chopped out of the Appendix by one of the Dell editors making cuts in the book, or by Wilson and Shea when they were compelled by Dell to make cuts.

I should also note that RAW's old friend, Scott Apel, maintains that Wilson's book The Illuminati Papers includes material cut from Illuminatus!  And in fact, there is independent evidence that Scott is correct. 

Johann Sebastian Bach in the new RAW politics book

I tend to think of Beethoven as Robertt Anton Wilson's favorite composer, and mentions of Beethoven haunt RAW's writings, including many of the most well-known titles, such as Illuminatus! and Prometheus Rising. So I was interested that Johann Sebastian Bach  was the composer mentioned most prominently in the new RAW book, A Non-Euclidean Perspective: Robert Anton Wilson’s Political Commentaries 1960-2005, which I just finished.

The first mention comes in the "Illuminating Discord" interview, from 1976, when RAW is asked about his favorite music, and he mentions "Beethoven's Ninth and his late quartets, Bach, Bizet, Carl Orff, Vivaldi, the less popular and more experimental stuff by Stravinsky."

In the transcript of the joint appearance with Karl Hess (pun intended), the pair are asked to name the "greatest person who ever lived." Hess says his mother and Euclid, RAW answers, "Johann Sebastian Bach."

In the Steve Fly interview, asked about "favorite music albums and recording artists," RAW answers, "I like Bach. I like Charlie Parker and Thelonius Monk and John Coltrane. I like Harry Belafonte and the Weavers and a lot of other music. I like Mahler. I like a lot of music. Next question."  (But earlier in the interview, when Steve asks for RAW's "favorite sound," he answers, "The end of Beethoven's Ninth: male and female voices singing together about joy and brotherhood and peace.")

A few other Bach bits:

In this post, Tyler Cowen rates Bach "the greatest achiever of all time." While this is a reasonable opinion and Tyler makes a good case, I am not sure why Bach would rank above Mozart,  who wrote an astounding quantity of good music before dying at age 35. Many of Mozart's most famous works date from late in his career, so it is painful to think about what we might have if Mozart had lived until 40. Bach made it to 65, Beethoven was 56 when he died.

Bach is referenced over and over again in the works of Richard Powers, one of my favorite novelists. This is most obvious in The Gold Bug Variations, in which a character gives her lover a copy of the famous Glenn Gould recording of the Goldberg Variations. 

One of my favorite Michael Johnson Substack issues is his Bach piece, "J.S. Bach and the Psychedelic Mind."  Michael likes to play Bach on electric guitar; he should put some of that out on Bandcamp.

I own a lot of Bach's music and also have a lot bookmarked on streaming services. If I had to pick one favorite piece, it might be Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582.  I also listen over and over again to three cantatas: "Wachet Auf," BWV 140; "Christ lag in Todes Banden," BWV 4, and the "Hunting Cantata," BWV 208. 

Looks like I'm going to read 'The Magus'

 

The recommendations for The Magus by John Fowles are coming in thick and fast. It looks like I need to get around to reading the copy that's been sitting in my Kindle for a long time.

1. The new Robert Anton Wilson book, A Non-Euclidean Perspective: Robert Anton Wilson’s Political Commentaries 1960-2005, mentions the book three times, including once as a personal favorite, and also as a "great book." 

2. I recently wrote about book.sv, a book recommendation site recommended by Mark Frauenfelder, the RAW fan, writer, artist and founder of the Boing Boing magazine and website. When I tried it, it recommended The Magus to me. In the comments, Lvx15 said the site recommended The Magus to him as well, and Mark Brown mentioned it's in his "to be read" pile (which I suspect is as big as mine).

3. Robert Shea (in the new book) recommends John Fowles as one of his favorite writers. 

4. Email from Mark Fraunfelder today: "Thanks for mentioning my book recommendation review! I read The Magus earlier this year and loved it!"

OK, OK, I will try to read it soon.

A new meme from RAW Semantics

 

Just wanted to draw a little attention to it. Posted on Bluesky to draw attention to the recent RAW Semantics posting about A Non-Euclidean Perspective: Robert Anton Wilson’s Political Commentaries 1960-2005.

RAW wrestles with Ezra Pound's good and bad

I haven't gotten very far in Non-Euclidian yet, but I have gotten far enough to notice that the editors chose many pieces written early in RAW's writing career. RAW himself, with some exceptions, did not use much of his early work when he was alive and was selecting the pieces for his own anthologies. He sometimes disparaged his early work, although I also wonder if he did not have easy access to much of it.

In any event, the use of early pieces in A Non-Euclidian Perspective means that the reader gets a look at how RAW's writing style and political thought evolved during his career. Some of those early pieces are not really my favorite bits of RAW writing, but I did very much like "Ezra Pound and his Admirers," where RAW confronts his admiration of Pound and his loathing for his politics:

"Two statements which I am arrogant enough to call 'facts' must be placed on record in any intelligent discussion of Pound: (1) He is a great poet and a great thinker; (2) He has deliberately and consistently support fascism, anti-Semitism and other vicious systems and attitudes for 30 years now, and continues to do so ... Placed together, those facts make a paradox which is both tragic and highly alarming. Most of us prefer not to face that paradox, and we reduce Pound to one part of it and ignore the other part." 

Later:

"To see Pound as he  is -- a man of genius and goodwill, of folly and rage, of love and integrity and hatred and dishonesty -- is to admit that such contradictions can exist in the human personality. That is not a comfortable thought -- it is especially uncomfortable to those of us who are, like Pound, idealists intent on changing the world -- so we prefer to brush it aside and go on playing our life-myth that the universe is one big Western Movie where the 'good guys' (us) are fighting the 'bad guys' (our enemies.)"

I am grateful to the editors for getting this book assembled, so I could read this piece and the other pieces.

Related: Substack from Michael Johnson: "Ezra Pound, RAW and The 'Two Cultures'."

RAW Semantics on the new RAW politics book

Art: RAW Semantics

Apparently I am not the only person excited about the big new Robert Anton Wilson book (514 pages!), A Non-Euclidean Perspective: Robert Anton Wilson’s Political Commentaries 1960-2005, as the RAW Semantics blog already has a post about it. Whereas I have only gotten a few dozen pages in, as I'm also trying to read two other books at the same time, Brian wasted little time, consuming the book in a weekend:

"Don’t expect smooth surface consistency and neat little category boxes from someone as prolific, pluralistic, open-minded and adaptable-to-situation as Robert Anton Wilson. That’s the 'warning' I’d give to someone, new to RAW’s work, about to read this amazing and exhilarating collection."

Jesse Walker also wrestles with the diversity in his "Discordia Rising" intro to the book.

I also plan to blog about the book, but kudos to Brian for getting out of the gate early! I'll be going back to his notes as I get through the new book. 

BTW, amazing art from Brian as usual, please see the post for that, too. I love the comic at the top. 

The new Hilaritas podcast is a good one

 The new Hilaritas podcast on the brand new Hilaritas Press book, episode, with Hilaritas host Mike Gathers chattting with Jesse Walker, books editor of Reason Magazine about A Non Euclidian Perspective, Robert Anton Wilson’s Political Commentaries 1960-2005, is really good. I have embedded the podcast again in this post, but you should be able to find it in your favorite podcasting source or app. 

Jesse explains how the big new collection shows off RAW's thinking over a long time period and says many of the pieces in the book will be unfamiliar even to many devoted fans. Jesse also offers his version of the final secret of the Illuminati.

Hilaritas has a podcast coming up on the Robert Shea book I edited. Jesse is among the writers who has endorsed the book, see his endorsement here. 

Jesse Walker in new Hilaritas podcast

Episode 50 of the Hilaritas Press podcast series features Jesse Walker, who wrote the wonderful introduction I read yesterday to the new Robert Anton Wilson book, A Non Euclidian Perspective, Robert Anton Wilson’s Political Commentaries 1960-2005, which was released yesterday. I have not had a chance to listen yet but will do so soon.

Note that Jesse has just announced a new book.  Jesse is on Bluesky and other social media as well. 

Hilaritas Press announces new Robert Anton Wilson politics book

 

Hilaritas Press today announced the release of a new anthology, A Non-Euclidean Perspective: Robert Anton Wilson’s Political Commentaries 1960-2005.

An email newsletter was sent out today to announce the book, Here is part of the announcement:

"This book has been a labor of love spanning some three years, where Mike Gathers, Chad Nelson, Jesse Walker and Richard Rasa poured over a mountain of essays, interviews and other writings so we could present an overview of Robert Anton Wilson's political ideas as they evolved over some 45 years. A nod to Tom Clisson, proofreader extraordinaire, is also essential. Jesse Walker, an editor at Reason magazine and author of The United States of Paranoia: A Conspiracy Theory, wrote an extensive introduction for the book, and Jesse did a masterful job at pulling all the threads of RAW's ideas into a coherent picture. Richard Rasa penned an afterword that takes a look at the Guns and Dope Party, RAW's only semi-official dabbling into the political theater when he ran for governor of California in a special election. Rasa's afterword also attempts to examine the question of RAW's standing in terms of left vs right. Fortunately, RAW goes a long way in explaining that himself in one of the essays in this book, that both Jesse and Rasa referenced."

I just bought my copy, now I have to go look at it! More here in the newsletter.