SOURCE: "Ezra Pound and Vorticism: A Polite Blast," in Wisconsin Studies in Contemporary Literature, Vol. VII, No. 2, Summer, 1966, pp. 201-10.

In the following essay, Lipke and Rozran criticize William Wees's definition of Vorticism.

I

In Who's Who (London) for the years 1915 through 1918, Ezra Pound contributed the following entry: "EZRA POUND, M.A. vorticist… Recreations: fencing, tennis, searching the Times for evidences of almost incredible stupidity." William C. Wees, in an article entitled "Ezra Pound as a Vorticist," described Pound's brief career as a vorticist, his influence on the movement, and its influence on him. Mr. Wees's presentation of the facts of Pound's participation in the vorticist movement is welcome, but Pound's affiliation with vorticism might be clarified if vorticism itself were more clearly understood. As Mr. Wees indicates, vorticism was primarily a movement in the visual arts. The following remarks are aimed not at disputing Mr. Wees's interpretation...