The Bughouse

A groundbreaking new biography of Ezra Pound, one of the most controversial poets of the twentieth century, told through the stories of his illustrious visitors at St Elizabeths Hospital, Washington, DC'An extraordinary book of real passionate research' Edmund de WaalIn 1945, Ezra Pound was due to stand trial for treason for his broadcasts in Fascist Italy during the Second World War. But before the trial could take place Pound was pronounced insane. Escaping a potential death sentence he was shipped off to St Elizabeths Hospital near Washington, DC, where he was held for over a decade.At the hospital, Pound was at his most contradictory and most controversial- a genius writer - 'The most important living poet in the English language' according to T. S. Eliot - but also a traitor and now, seemingly, a madman. But he remained a magnetic figure. Eliot, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Lowell and John Berryman all went to visit him at what was perhaps the world's most unorthodox literary salon- convened by a fascist and held in a lunatic asylum.Told through the eyes of his illustrious visitors, The Bughouse captures the essence of Pound - the artistic flair, the profound human flaws - whilst telling the grand story of politics and art in the twentieth century.

“It is Swift's considerable achievement sympathetically to examine an extraordinary, often troubling, tale...an enthralling narrative”

It is Swift’s considerable achievement sympathetically to examine an extraordinary, often troubling, tale...an enthralling narrative -- Robert McCrum Observer
An extraordinary book of real passionate research which keeps surprising and illuminating by turns. -- Edmund de Waal
Lively and searching… He has an engaging authorial presence and his own hesitations and uncertainties about Ezra Pound, both as poet and personality, lend a certain tension and a pleasing piquancy to his narrative -- Eric Ormsby Times Literary Supplement
Swift is a sensitive and thoughtful reader of both poetry and human psychology... The Bughouse is also a kind of immersive adventure journalism, in which he retraces Pound's steps and tries to unearth new details about his life -- Adam Kirsch New Statesman
To understand an artist as compromised by circumstances – and by his own many contradictions – as Ezra Pound, we have to trace a complex path through a maze of half-truths, myth, and simplification. The Bughouse does so with supreme care, critical acumen, and humanity, shedding a whole new light not only on Pound the man, but also on the shape and character of The Cantos, one of the most seriously flawed and truly brilliant artworks of the twentieth century -- John Burnside
A wonderful portrait of Ezra Pound in all his moods - mad, bad and blindingly sane. -- A. Alvarez
Swift does a fine job of allowing Pound’s many contradictions to stay in place and reminds us, too, that 45 years after his death there are plenty of contradictions left in the people who admire him -- James Walton Daily Mail
It is a tribute to the brightness of The Bughouse that Swift has revived my interest in the old monster -- Roger Lewis The Times
Swift’s strength is his refusal to separate Pound’s writings from the issues of Fascism and insanity... Sharp-eyed and pacey...it highlights memorably the tangled relations between lunatic, lover and poet -- Robert Crawford Literary Review
[A] remarkable study of [Ezra Pound’s] fertile afterlife -- Suzi Feay Financial Times
At the heart of this books lies a fascinating debate about poets and society -- Craig Brown Mail on Sunday
A powerful and very talented writer…dashing and arresting…the greatness in his subject shines through every dark corner -- Peter Craven Sydney Review of Books
Swift admits that he cannot pin his elusive subject down, but there is no need. By following his instinct he has allowed the poet, with his ‘shifting self-narration’, to lead the way in this marvellous evocation. -- Philippa Williams The Lady
American poet Ezra Pound… proves an elusive but fascinating subject in this non-linear, impressionistic biography -- Juanita Coulson Lady

Daniel Swift teaches at the New College of the Humanities. His first book, Bomber County, was longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize and the Guardian First Book award, and his essays and reviews have appeared in the New York Times, the New Statesman, and Harper's.

In 1945, the American poet Ezra Pound was due to stand trial for treason for his broadcasts in Fascist Italy during the Second World War. Before the trial could take place, however, he was pronounced insane. Escaping a possible death sentence, he was sent to St Elizabeths Hospital near Washington, DC, where he was held for over a decade. At the hospital, Pound was at his most infamous, and most contradictory. He was a genius and a traitor; a great poet and a madman. He was also an irresistible figure and, in his cell on Chestnut Ward and in the elegant hospital grounds, he was visited by the major poets and writers of his time. T. S. Eliot, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Lowell, John Berryman, Charles Olson and Frederick Seidel all went to sit with him. They listened to him speak, and wrote of what they had seen. This was perhaps the world's most unorthodox literary salon: convened by a fascist, held in a lunatic asylum, with chocolate brownies and mayonnaise sandwiches served for tea. Pound continues to divide all who read and think of him. At the hospital, the doctors who studied him and the poets who learned from him each had a different understanding of this wild and most difficult man. Tracing Pound through the eyes of his visitors, The Bughouse tells the story of politics, madness and modern art in the twentieth century.

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