Guides: Penn Ezra Pound Conference 2017: Conference Tours

Ezra Pound, Philadelphia Genius, and Modern American Poetry

Conference Tours

June 19: Pre-Conference Walking Tour of Penn Campus

This approximately one-hour tour, conducted by John Gery and David McKnight, will include buildings, landscapes and addresses known to Ezra Pound, H.D., and William Carlos Williams during the period of 1901-11. You may also use the tour map to explore on your own.

Tour Times: 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM. Those who have signed up should meet by the Claes Oldenburg Split Button outside the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library 15 minutes before the tour begins.

Tour Map: Based on a map in the 1905-6 University Catalog, this map shows key sites at Penn while Pound, Williams, and Doolittle were students there. Click the image below to download an large version.

The following map of University City in the early 20th century is drawn from Baedeker's The United States (3rd ed., 1904). Click to enlarge:

Guided Tours of Local Institutions

June 19: Pre-Conference Tour of Marianne Moore Materials at The Rosenbach Museum and Library

Free admission to the Rosenbach Museum and Library, 2008-2010 Delancey Street, if you signed up for one of these two tours, conducted by Elizabeth Fuller, of Marianne Moore’s living room and bedroom as reconstructed by the Rosenbach. Kelsey Bates will welcome you with tea and cookies.

Cost: Free. Times: 3:30 PM and 4:30 PM. Participants should meet at the Rosenbach library 15 minutes before the tour. If you are departing from Penn Campus, you may meet at the Claes Oldenburg Split Button outside the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library, 30 minutes before the tour, to be guided to the bus going to Delancey Street.

June 21: Visit and Lectures, The Philadelphia Museum of Art

The world-class collections of the PMA comprise over 240 000 objects, including fine and decorative arts as well as rare books and historic artifacts. Its main building on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway was completed in 1928, including its iconic front steps. Exhibitions and floor plans may be viewed online.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA), the largest Greek temple in the world, is undergoing a massive interior expansion designed by Frank Gehry. EPIC 2017 is fortunate to be allowed to view the modern European and American art that has not been placed in temporary storage. We are privileged to have curators Joseph J. Rishel, Curator Emeritus of European Painting, Kathleen A. Foster, Senior Curator and Director, Center for American Art, and others show us through the modern art galleries that currently remain open, but first, relax a few moments in the Great Hall in the presence of Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s statue of Artemis at the head of the Great Stairs, and, floating nearby, the mobile of Sandy Calder’s Holy Ghost. You can buy snacks, a cup of tea, or a glass of wine.

7:00 pm Meet the curators at the foot of the Great Stairs. They will lead us to the second floor galleries where Joseph J. Rishel will talk about Cézanne and the prescience of Philadelphia collectors of art. Kathleen A. Foster will discuss Marcel Duchamp.

Cost: US $30 per person. Time: 5:00-9:00 PM. Bus departs at 5 and 5:30 pm from Penn campus, with return trips at 8:30 and 9 pm.

June 22: Trip to Pound Home Sites in Jenkintown and Wyncote, Pennsylvania

Includes a stop at Pound's childhood home, 166 Fernbrook Avenue; a tour of Calvary Presbyterian Church, attended by the Pound family; and a reception in the Church Hall.

Cost: US $30 per person. Time: 2:30-5:30 PM.

The following map of Philadelphia suggests locations of interest for self-guided tours and tourism. Click here to open in a new tab.

For a comprehensive guide to local attractions and their relevance to the four poets, click the image below to access the PDF of "Some Sights to Consider Visiting in Philadelphia," written by Emily Mitchell Wallace.

Participants are also encouraged to visit the Philly PHLASH Tours website, which has a dynamic map of the area served by PHLASH buses. Managed by the Independence Visitor Center, the PHLASH runs daily service during the summer, providing access to 22 stops near popular attractions. Buses cost run 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m, with service to each stop every 15 minutes. All PHLASH vehicles are temperature-controlled and wheelchair-accessible. PHLASH tickets are $2 per ride or $5 per day, and can be purchased onboard (exact change only), at at any Visitor Center location, or online.