Cathay (poetry collection)

[1] Soon after Pound read Herbert Giles's A History of Modern Literature (1901), from which he took inspiration to try his hand at translating Chinese poetry.

[1] Fenollosa had died two years earlier, leaving behind a large collection of disorganized notes and unpublished manuscripts based on two decades spent living, teaching, and studying in Asia.

[3] The papers were sent to Pound in London and upon examining them his first task was to rewrite Fenollosa's basic translations of Noh plays, often in the form of poetry.

This is evident also in "Lament of the Frontier Guard", and is perhaps suggestive of Pound's great distress at the loss of life during World War One.

[15] In Argentina, the poet Juan Arabia will publish in 2020 a Spanish edition of Cathay that includes annotations by Wang Yin and an epilogue by Forrest Gander.

[16] The volume was published during a period when Pound felt despondent about his work, and he added a defense on the last page: "I give only these unquestionable poems ...[otherwise] it is quite certain that the personal hatred by which I am held by many, and the invidia which is directed against me because I have dared openly to declare my belief in certain young artists will be brought to bear on the flaws of such translations".