Ezra Pound, Imagism, and the Influence of the Orient Few students of literature and poetry would describe the works of Ezra Pound as easily accessible, yet as with any other artist we may perhaps shed some light on his difficult canon by examining some interrelated topics that were central to his development as a poet. The movement called Imagism which he was instrumental in launching, the doctrine and method that comprised this philosophy, and the oriental influences of Chinese picture-writing and Japanese hokku poetry are all crucial for an understanding of Pound’s conception and definition of poetry. The precise hist