James Michener The Novel

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century? Franklin D. Roosevelt, but you are not allowed to erect any
memorials to him because the conservative people who dominate decisions
in your nation will not allow it. They know that Roosevelt in striving
to aid the common man was a traitor to his class. 'Artists are like
the great political leaders. They tend to reject their own class, they
attend to the Imperative of the Now, the problem at hand, and the
establishment abhors them, designating their behavior treason.'
it was a bravura performance, delivered in an energetic style, and the
audience cheered. Then my grandson approached the podium, and I was
proud of his manly, bearing, his mature self-confidence and the able
manner in which he marshaled his ideas. He at once put forth in simple
terms the gist of his argument: 'I doubt if anyone here tonight would
argue with the
fact that Ezra Pound, who certainly attended to "the
Imperative of the Now", was three distinct persons: one of America's
greatest po;ts, the world's foremost 401
teacher of other poets, and a notorious wartime traitor to
his own country. But I want to speak of him in his fourth category, the
one of which this nation cannot be proud, the tortured prisoner of St
Elizabeths.' He then proceeded to give a harrowing account of the
twelve long years Pound spent in the asylum for madmen because the
government simply declared him insane, with- out a trial. 'Thus
our government itself converted this great poet into a symbol of all
artists who rebel against authority, who ask impertinent questions, who by
one trick or another infuriate the establishment. Pound reminds us of
the dangerous tightrope on which the artist balances between regard for
the past and vision of the future. The young man or woman who aspires to
become an artist but who is not willing to take that risk will have no
chance whatever of being remembered. Art is a confrontation in which one
gambles his or her life.' Timothy's peroration drew such vigorous
cheering that I had to approve of his performance, even though I rejected
his conclusions. When the applause continued, as if he had uttered
divine truth, I felt that someone with a more considered grasp of values
must remind the audience of the greater truth. Rising from my seat, I
signaled for the floating microphone, and when an usher brought it to me,
the chairman said from the dais: 'We're so fortunate in having with us
tonight a woman who supports the arts in a magnificent way. She gives us
funds to run them. Mrs Jane Garland, of our board of regents.'
Grasping the microphone with a firm hand, I said: 'Tonight we've been
hearing a great deal about the obliga- tion of the artist and his freedom
to behave as he likes. We 402 have in our audience a man who
has probably done mo, actual writing than any of us, who on a daily basis
hg wrestled with these abstract problems in the arena of actu.
performance. I refer to Lukas Yoder, well known not on in these parts but
in America generally, and I wish he woul come forward and share his views
with us.' I could see that Lukas was not inclined to join th
discussion, for he remembered the debacle that had ensue in this hall when
he defended Longfellow, and he wishe no repetition of that anguish. But
Emma prodded hin 'What have you to lose?' and he proceeded to show her.
With his first words, Yoder detonated a bomb: 'We'v heard a great deal
tonight about the heroism and intellectu grandeur of Ezra Pound, but every
speaker has evaded on terrible fact regarding this man, the fact that in
my min supersedes all others. How many in this audience a Jewish?
Raise your han& high, please, because you ar testifiers to the point I
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hope to make.' When a considerabl number of hands lifted, including that
of Jenny Sorkin bt not of Ms MarmeUe, Yoder said gravely: 'Thank you. If
Ez Pound had had his way, you would not be here tonigh indeed, you
would never have existed, because your paren would have gone the way of
the Jews of Germany an Poland and Greece and Czechoslovakia. They would
hav been exterminated.' His words created a furor, with the English
profess( crying: 'Oh, that's infamous,' and another professor fro Penn
shouting: 'Let me respondl' Some students, led by in grandson, booed Yoder
while others, including Jerm Sorkin, applauded and tried to drown out the
boos. Pres dent Rossiter, who had become increasingly uneasy wit the
tenor of the talks, stared ahead impassively until h
wife goaded him into action. Then without much convictio he
moved toward the microphone and was able to restore semblance of order,
muttering: 'This is a~college audienc 40
and we must observe the rules of comity. Our good neighbor
Lukas Yoder was summoned to the microphone. He didn't grab it on his own.
Please, I beg of you, let him speak.' Lukas, who had said nothing during
the near riot nor made any move to protect himself, stood at that moment
at the conclusion of a working life; he had a universe of ideas, he
wanted to share; but when quiet was restored he shot off in a direction
that astounded us all, even Emma: 'I have written my last book [There
were many cries of 'Nol Nol but he ignored them] and I've written in a
style that is dearly old-fashioned, even outmoded. [More protests.] But if
I were starting over tonight as a beginning writer I wouldn't dream of
doing it the way I did. I would be adventurous. I'd use new styles, new
forms, new discoveries in psychology, new approaches to the reader, new
everything. I am addicted to constant change in all things. 'To tell
you the truth, I sometimes find my Amish friends' adherence to outmoded
customs preposterous. But the way they adhere to the fundamentals pleases
me very much, and in my own work I've tried to copy their stoutness of
character. 'So in the discussion tonight I find myself heartily in
favor of young artists being bold enough to break bonds, but I also
believe that the artist has an obligation to his or her society - to help
the disparate elements cling together in mutual interests - to support
good government - to care for the unfortunate, and give assistance to
young people who yearn to become artists. I find myself in harmony with
them. 'But I am not in harmony with anyone who argues that a drive
for freedom of expression entitles him to 404 engage in
treason against his nation or advocate the extermination of people he
doesn't like.' He retired from the front of the hall to modest
applaus from his supporters and silence from the thoughtful, but a
seemed moved by his revelations about himself as a writ and by his
willingness to remind his colleagues of th permanent moral values of the
human race. When h reached his seat Emma said simply: 'It had to be done.
Le some fresh air into this room.' For me at least the symposium had
thrown such blindin light on Pound's treason that I was hungry for furthe
exploration of a crucial point I had not been sufficientl forthright to
raise in. my long afternoon discussion wi Yvonne. So when she drove me [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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