DATE: 3 February 2015
MEMORANDUM
FROM: John Gery, Secretary, Ezra Pound International Conference
TO: Presenters, Friends, and Others for the 26th Ezra Pound International Conference, Brunnenburg, Dorf Tirol, Merano, Italy, July 7-11, 2015
The conveners of the 26th Ezra Pound International Conference, scheduled for Brunnenburg, Italy, 7-12 July 2015, welcome you to start planning your trip and to register. We are looking forward to your participation. The widespread interest this meeting has generated so far holds promise that this will be among the largest, most vibrant EPICs to date.
As you know, the conference theme is Ezra Pound and the Green World. It comes on the centennial of such publications as Cathay and the War issue of BLAST, as well as Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by Pound’s instigation in Poetry. Of course, 1915 also brought on the death of Henri Gaudier-Brzeska in early June, along with the deaths of many others in the trenches of World War I, and by September Zeppelins began dropping bombs on London. Early in the year Pound and Dorothy Shakespear spent a season with Yeats at Stone Cottage at work on Noh Drama and Yeats’s At the Hawk’s Well, performed the following spring by Japanese dancer, Michio Itō. By mid-year he was working tirelessly to find support for the families of James Joyce, forced by the war to move from Trieste to Zurich, and of Wyndham Lewis, himself in training in the British Army. Yet during this year Pound also began work on “a cryselephantine poem of immeasurable length which will occupy me for the next four decades unless it becomes a bore.”
As the ideal location for a Pound conference focusing on the poet’s relationship to nature, the 26th EPIC will take place at the stunning site of Brunnenburg, Italy, a castle with a complex history and unforgettable vista perched on a mountainside near Schloss Tirol. Besides functioning as a working farm and rich vineyard that practices organic, traditional methods, Brunnenburg houses an agricultural museum unique of its kind and is the home of the illustrious, generous Mary de Rachewiltz and her family. Pound came to live here with his daughter, her husband Boris de Rachewiltz, and their children Walter Siegfried and Patrizia after his release from St. Elizabeths Hospital in July 1958.
For five days at Brunnenburg, the 26th EPIC will be chock full of papers, presentations, readings, discussions, and music, much of which will feature Pound’s keen and variegated engagement with the natural world and the human place in it. In addition to such dynamic sessions as those on “Early Pound, Nature, and the Image,” “Pastoral Pound I & II,” “Pound’s Painterly Nature,” “Pound, Nature, and Japanese Poetry,” and “Pound, Women, and Nature,” we are anticipating new and ground-breaking presentations by a host of eminent scholars and critics, including Barry Ahearn, Charles Altieri, Maria Luisa Ardizzone, Massimo Bacigalupo, Walter Baumann, Ron Bush, Helen Carr, Siegfried de Rachewiltz, Christine Froula, Alec Marsh, David Moody, Ira Nadel, Akitoshi Nagahata, Marjorie Perloff, William Pratt, Timothy Redman, Richard Sieburth, Demetres Tryphonopoulas, Robert von Hallberg, Emily Mitchell Wallace, Rosella Mamoli Zorzi, and many others.
Furthermore, special events enhancing our time in the Tyrol will include Catherine Paul’s presentation and readings from Yeats’s “A Packet for Ezra Pound,” a poetry reading by Poundian poets, and a roundtable on Canto 81 with the London Cantos Reading Group, as well as musical performances and Brunnenburg’s signature winetasting. But the two indisputable highlights of this conference will be a tribute to Mary de Rachewiltz’s 90th birthday and a bus excursion to nearby Tschengls for the Unveiling of the Three Pillars of marble (See Cantos 94 and 97), to fulfil a request Pound made before his death and for which Olga Rudge chose the marble.
So that you can begin planning your trip, attached to this email you should find:
(1) The EPIC Registration Form
(2) A Copy of this Memo with Conference Information (see below)
(3) A List of Lodgings in Dorf Tirol, including contact information and distance from Brunnenburg
The EPIC Co-Conveners and staff look forward to seeing you at Brunnenburg in July!
Co-Conveners:
Walter Baumann
Siegfried de Rachewiltz
John Gery
26th Ezra Pound International Conference
CONFERENCE INFORMATION
EVENTS and EXCURSIONS: When you make your travel plans for Brunnenburg, keep in mind the dates and times for additional events and excursions: A Pre-Conference tour of Schloss Tirol is planned for the day of Tuesday, 7 July, with an afternoon seminar of the London Cantos Reading Group and an evening Wine Reception for Mary de Rachewiltz, followed by a Cookout at Brunnenburg. An afternoon excursion to Tschengls to unveil the Monument of Three Pillars for Pound, followed by the EPIC Conference Banquet, is planned for Friday, 10 July. And after the conference, a one-day excursion to Brixen and Gais, child home of Mary de Rachewiltz, will be offered on Sunday, 12 July. Each of these optional events is listed on the Registration Form where you can mark your preferences when you register.
TRAVEL TO BRUNNENBURG: All conference participants and others who attend are also responsible for making their own travel and lodging arrangements. The sooner you book your travel and accommodation the better, as July in Dorf Tirol is high tourist season.
By Air: The closest and most convenient airports to Dorf Tirol (the village by Brunnenburg), Merano, are Munich Airport (Germany) and Milan-Malpensa. The closest airport is Bolzano/Bozen, with other airports in the general vicinity being Verona, Venice, and Innsbruck (Austria), but these airports are liable to be more expensive for international travelers. NOTE: For return travel from Brunnenburg after the conference, please allow a full day of travel from Brunnenburg to Munich or Milan, unless you plan to get to the airport by auto or taxi. Do not book a morning or afternoon flight on the same day you plan to leave Dorf Tirol.
By Train from Munich: From Munich Airport, you can take the Lufthansa Airport Bus (10€) or the S-Bahn undergound (10.80€) directly from the airport to Munich Train Station (Hauptbahnhof), from where, during the day, Eurocity (EC) trains on Deutsche Bahn depart south directly to Bolzano/Bozen approximately every two hours (six trains a day). The ride (65€) is usually between 31/2 and 4 hours. This train also stops in Innsbruck. In Bolzano, buy your ticket before boarding, if you can, for the local train to Merano (40-45 minutes) and get off at the last stop. When you exit the Merano/Meran station onto the street, to your left look for a taxi which can take you directly to your hotel/Gasthaus (20€ to Dorf Tirol); directly to your right outside the station entrance, at the end of the block by the station, is the bus stop for the Tirolo/Dorf Tirol bus, which will take you through the center of Merano and up the hill to the center of Dorf Tirol (2.5€). The last bus of the day is around 7:30 pm. Timetable for the No. 221 bus from Meran Bahnhof to Dorf Tirol (Tirol Busbahnhof): http://www.sii.bz.it/en
[Note: If you buy your train tickets online in advance, be sure to purchase it from Deutsche Bahn (http://www.bahn.de/i/view/GBR/en/index.shtml) only from Munich to Bolzano/Bozen; you will not find tickets for the direct EC train if you type in Merano and it will take you much longer. Also you will not find schedules for Deutsche Bahn train on the Trenitalia website.]
By Bus: Another option from Munich to Dorf Tirol is the Südtirolbus available from Munich to Meran for about 50€: http://www.suedtirolbus.it/ or the new Fernbus from Munich to Meran for only 13.50€: http://meinfernbus.de/en (works great!).
By Train from Milano-Malpensa: From Milan-Malpensa Airport, Terminal 1, take either of the two competing airport bus lines (Malpensa Shuttle or Malpensa Bus Express), departing every 20 minutes directly to Milan Central Station (Milano Centrale); the ride takes approximately one hour and costs 10 (18€ roundtrip). There is also a train line, Malpensa Express, from Terminal 1 (12€) with stops at Milano Cadorna and Milano Porta Garibaldi stations. From Milano Centrale, you can buy a ticket for Merano/Meran from a kiosk (to avoid the lines at the ticket window), or buy the ticket online in advance at http://www.trenitalia.com/. Most trains from Milano Centrale to Merano require that you change trains twice: at Verona Porta Nuova for Bolzano, and at Bolzano for Merano. The trip usually takes between 4 and 5 hours. When you exit the Merano/Meran station onto the street, to your left look for a taxi which can take you directly to your hotel/Gasthaus (20€ to Dorf Tirol); directly to your right outside the station entrance, at the end of the block by the station, is the bus stop for the Tirolo/Dorf Tirol bus, which will take you through the center of Merano and up the hill to the center of Dorf Tirol (2.5€). The last bus of the day is around 7:30 pm. Timetable for the No. 221 bus from Meran Bahnhof to Dorf Tirol (Tirol Busbahnhof): http://www.sii.bz.it/en
HOTELS IN DORF TIROL AND MERANO: Attached to this email you will find a list of hotels and lodgings in Dorf Tirol that you can contact to reserve a room or apartment for the conference dates (See Accommodations Dorf Tirol.2015.pdf). The EPIC Committee thanks Michael (Michi) de Rachewiltz for preparing this list. Michi has written, “When contacting hotels, Poundians should mention that they are attending the conference at Brunnenburg. They might not necessarily get a discount - but if there are some problems, the hotel at least will know whom to contact.”
Limited student housing: For students who wish to attend the EPIC, there may be dormitory-style rooms available in the Brunnenburg Croft. Students enrolling in the University of New Orleans Brunnenburg-Pound summer program who also attend the conference will be able to stay in the croft at a reduced rate. But if other rooms remain available, other students can reserve them: Single rooms (25 Euro) and double rooms (20 Euro). Contact Nik de Rachewiltz at
UNVEILING THE THREE PILLARS + EPIC BANQUET: Friday, 10 July, 2:30 pm
This excursion will take EPIC participants and others to Tschengls in the Vinschgau for the unveiling of the monument of three pillars which Pound wished to be built in the Tirol:
Canto 94: and at Gadara (Cadiz) sumerian capitals to their pillars
Canto 97: The temple is holy
because it is not for sale
Through the auspices of Siegfried de Rachewiltz and the Pound family, a beautiful site for the pillars has been selected near Tschengls. A bus will transport those who reserve a place to visit the marble factories (where Olga Rudge selected the marble to be used for the temple), then to the site itself for the unveiling of the three pillars. After a ceremony and toast to Mary de Rachewiltz, participants will return to Dorf Tirol for the always popular EPIC banquet. (Price: Excursion and banquet are separately priced. Excursion: €30/ $35/ £24. Banquet: €40/ $45/ £30 per person). For a map, see http://maps.vinschgau.net/#zzz1
CONTRIBUTE TO THE BULDING OF THE THREE PILLARS: While the 26th EPIC will make a joint contribution to the building of the Three Pillars (Canto 90: “Templum aedificans”), each of you is further invited to make an individual contribution to this project that has been in the works for many years. This is an option but not rquired. You can designate whatever specific amount you wish to contribute on the Registration Form, and that specific amount will be listed as a separate figure on your conference receipt, if requested.
BUS TOUR TO BRIXEN and GAIS: Sunday, 12 July, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
This excursion will extend the celebration of Mary de Rachewiltz’s 90th birthday by taking participants to the places of her birth and childhood, with references to Pound’s visits to the Sudtirol along the way: Departure by bus at 9 am from Dorf Tirol will first go for a short stop at Brixen, Mary's birthplace. This portion of the trip will include visits to Neustift library, Kloster Neustift, and the Dom. The bus will then continue to Gais where visitors will walk on the Kulturweg and have lunch at Schloss Neuhaus. After lunch, there will be a visit to the church, with the return to Dorf Tirol by 6 pm. (Cost: €45/ $50/ £34/ per person)
See map: http://gis2.provinz.bz.it/geobrowser/?project=geobrowser_pro&view=geobrowser_pro_atlas-b&locale=de
EPIC WEBSITE UPDATE: Very soon the newly updated conference website for Brunnenburg 2015 will be posted. You will be notified once it becomes available. Thank you for your patience.