Artist's Circle

           As a young man, William Carlos Williams constantly sought to find inspiration for his writing in old works of great poets.  Often, it seemed, his work simply emulated the styles of old authors, without necessarily having himself create his own style. However, upon entering college, Williams found himself immersed in a place where other individuals who shared his passion for creating surrounded him. One such individual was the great imagist poet, Ezra Pound.

            According to William Carlos Williams himself, “before meeting Ezra Pound is like B.C. and A.D.”. After meeting Pound, Williams was able to look past the mentors he had before and move into shaping his own style. Until entering college,  Williams focused his poetry on mimicking the writing of great poets such as Walt Whitman and John Keats. However, upon meeting Pound, a profound change occurred in both Williams’ writing style, and his appeal to poetry. Together the two would discuss, in length, the ins and outs of writing, and frequently meet with artists of other mediums. Eventually, all of the talking would lead into the development of the Imagist movement.

            Along with his friends Ezra Pound, Hilda Doolittle, and Charles Demuth, William Carlos Williams spearheaded the imagist movement. Similar movements had already taken place in music and art, but poetry remained conformed to the rudimentary meter that had held strong for decades. As critic Kennith Lincoln stated “From the 1913 Armory Show on, Williams, Pound, Hartley, Demuth, Moore, and all the Others were ‘streaming through’ a break in the old conventions: ‘—the poetic line, the way the image was to be on the page was our immediate concern,” (Lincoln). By breaking free of the old rules that bound them so tightly, Williams, Pound, and others were able to develop a new style of poetry to appropriately bring the medium into the 20^th century. The group of young artists grew close, meeting regularly to discuss poetry and other mediums.

            Despite being close friends, and major influences of the imagist movement, William Carlos Williams and Ezra Pound did not always see eye to eye. In the year 1945, Williams wrote a letter marked with sadness regarding Pounds anti-Semitism. (Mathews).  Later, Pound remarked how he found Williams’ poetry to be much too unsophisticated. These rifts in their friendship were reflected by the poets’ differing styles of writing, but the two remained close friends throughout their careers.

            While it is very important for all talented writers to have a mentor, Williams found his in peers and close friends. From the point he met friends like Ezra Pound, onward, Williams was able to alter his style, and bring poetry into the 20^th century effectively by spearheading the Imagist movement. If not for the artist circle formed by Williams and others,  poetry would have remained conformed to the strict guidelines of meter set by the age old poets of the past.

William Carlos Williams and Ezra Pound