Mary de Rachewiltz, the daughter of the American poet Ezra
Pound, has died at the age of 101.
Rachewiltz, who grew up in Gais, followed in the footsteps of her famous father at an early age, translating his books into Italian, among other languages. She also made a name for herself with her own literary works.
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| Niccolò Caranti, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons |
Just last November, the then 100-year-old was made an honorary citizen of the
city of Merano by Mayor Katharina Zeller.
Mary de Rachewiltz, who most recently lived at Brunnenburg Castle in Dorf
Tirol, died on Friday – just a few days after her 101st birthday – surrounded
by her family.
Mary de Rachewiltz was born on July 9, 1925, in Brixen, the
only child of the poet Ezra Pound and the violinist Olga Rudge. She was raised
as a foster child at the Samerhof farm in Gais in Taufers – hence her nickname
"Samer-Moidile."
There, Mary enjoyed a happy childhood close to nature, sharing the simple life
of a small farming family and learning about work, customs, language, and
worldview. In her youth, she also discovered the literary and musical world of
her parents in Venice, Siena, and on the Ligurian coast; under her father's
guidance, she began to write and translate the Cantos.
After marrying the Egyptologist Boris de Rachewiltz in 1946, she moved to South
Tyrol – to Brunnenburg Castle. Mary
de Rachewiltz wrote in English and Italian, spoke German and French,
and still mastered the Puster Valley dialect of her childhood.
She translated extensively , the works of her
father, Ezra Pound , the great master of modern poetry, but
she also wrote, written a lot. A poetry made of luminous details, brief
sketches , where objects assert themselves, peach stones intertwine
with the destiny of man. "My friend, let yourself be seen" are the
words of the poet in some of her verses. And last night in Merano, at the
Pavillon des Fleurs, many friends and loved ones applauded her when she
received honorary citizenship from the mayor of Merano, the first woman to
do so.
Delicate, never ideological, witty. A life that spanned the
twentieth century. Raised in Gais, in the Pusteria Valley, she immersed
herself in her father's verses from adolescence. In 1985, the
complete Italian translation of Cantos, the unfinished poem by the American
poet, considered one of the masterpieces of modernist literature, was
published. This summer, she celebrated her 100th birthday in Castel Fontana, in
the village of Tirolo, where she lives with her family. A full life for the
poet, who over the years has transformed her home into a vibrant hub of
culture, memory, and poetry.
Translated from the announcement at: Stol.it