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W. S. Merwin

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W. S. Merwin
Merwin in 2003
Merwin in 2003
BornWilliam Stanley Merwin
(1927-09-30)September 30, 1927
New York City, U.S.
DiedMarch 15, 2019(2019-03-15)(aged 91)
Haiku, Hawaii,U.S.
OccupationPoet
EducationPrinceton University(attended)
Period1952–2019
GenrePoetry, prose, translation
Notable awardsSee below
SpouseDorothy Jeanne Ferry
Dido Milroy
Paula Dunaway (1983–2017)
Signature

William Stanley Merwin(September 30, 1927 – March 15, 2019) was an American poet who wrote more than fifty books of poetry andproseand produced many works intranslation.[1]During the 1960santi-war movement,Merwin's unique craft was thematically characterized by indirect, unpunctuated narration. In the 1980s and 1990s, his writing influence derived from an interest inBuddhist philosophyanddeep ecology.Residing in a rural part ofMaui,Hawaii, he wrote prolifically and was dedicated to the restoration of the island'srainforests.

Merwin received many honors, including thePulitzer Prize for Poetryin 1971 and 2009;[2]theNational Book Award for Poetryin 2005,[3]and the Tanning Prize — one of the highest honors bestowed by theAcademy of American Poets— as well as the Golden Wreath of theStruga Poetry Evenings.In 2010, theLibrary of Congressnamed him the 17thUnited States Poet Laureate.[4][5]Alongside co-author Takako Lento, he received theJapan–U.S. Friendship Commission Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literaturein 2013 for their translation ofCollected Haiku of Yosa Buson.[6]

Early life

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Merwin grew up on this street inUnion City, New Jersey,which was renamed for him in 2006.

W. S. Merwin was born in New York City on September 30, 1927. He grew up on the corner of Fourth Street and New York Avenue inUnion City, New Jersey,and lived there until 1936, when his family moved toScranton, Pennsylvania.As a child, Merwin was enamored of the natural world, sometimes finding himself talking to the large tree in his back yard. He was also fascinated with things that he saw as links to the past, such as the building behind his home that had once been a barn which housed a horse and carriage.[7]At the age of five he started writing hymns for his father,[8]aPresbyterian minister.[5]

Career

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Early career: 1952–1976

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After attendingPrinceton Universityin 1952, Merwin married Dorothy Jeanne Ferry, and moved to Spain. During his stay there, while visiting the renowned poetRobert Gravesat his homestead on the island ofMajorca,he served as tutor to Graves's son. There, he met Dido Milroy, fifteen years his senior, with whom he collaborated on a play and whom he later married and lived with in London. In 1956, Merwin moved toBostonfor a fellowship at the Poets' Theater. He returned to London, where he befriendedSylvia PlathandTed Hughes.In 1968, Merwin moved to New York City, separating from his wife Dido Milroy, who stayed at their home in France. In the late 1970s, Merwin moved to Hawaii and eventually was divorced from Dido Milroy. He married Paula Dunaway in 1983.[9]

From 1956 to 1957, Merwin was also playwright-in-residence at thePoet's TheatreinCambridge, Massachusetts;he became poetry editor atThe Nationin 1962. Besides being a prolific poet, he was a respected translator of Spanish, French, Latin and Italian literature and poetry (includingLazarillo de TormesandDante'sPurgatorio)[10][11]as well as poetry fromSanskrit,Yiddish,Middle English,Japanese andQuechua.He served as selector of poems of the American poetCraig Arnold(1967–2009).[12]

Merwin is known for his poetry about theVietnam Warand can be included among the canon of Vietnam War-era poets which includes writersRobert Bly,Robert Duncan,Adrienne Rich,Denise Levertov,Robert Lowell,Allen GinsbergandYusef Komunyakaa.[13]

Merwin's early subjects were frequently tied to mythological or legendary themes, while many of his poems featured animals. A volume calledThe Drunk in the Furnace(1960) marked a change for Merwin, in that he began to write in a more autobiographical way.[14]

In the 1960s, Merwin lived in a small apartment in New York City'sGreenwich Village.[7]

Later career: 1977–2019

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Merwin's volumeMigration: New and Selected Poemswon the 2005 National Book Award for poetry.[15]

In 1998, Merwin wroteFolding Cliffs: A Narrative,an ambitious novel-in-verse aboutHawaiʻiin history and legend.[16]

The Shadow of Sirius,published in 2008 byCopper Canyon Press,was awarded the 2009Pulitzer Prizefor poetry.[2]

In June 2010, the Library of Congress named Merwin the seventeenthUnited States Poet Laureate,to replace the outgoingKay Ryan.[4][5]He is the subject of the 2014 feature documentary filmEven Though the Whole World Is Burning,directed byStefan Schaefer.A one-hour version, entitled "To Plant a Tree", was broadcast nationally on PBS. Merwin appeared in the PBS documentaryThe Buddha,released in 2010. He had moved to Hawaii to study with the Zen Buddhist masterRobert Aitkenin 1976.[17]

In 2010, with his wife Paula, he co-founded The Merwin Conservancy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving his hand-built, off-the-grid poet's home and 18-acre restored property in Haiku,Maui,which has been transformed from an "agricultural wasteland" to a "Noah's Ark" for rare palm trees, one of the largest and most biodiverse collections of palms in the world.[18]

Merwin's last book of poetry,Garden Time(Copper Canyon Press, 2016), was composed during the difficult process of losing his eyesight. When he could no longer see well enough to write, he dictated poems to his wife, Paula. It is a book about aging and the practice of living one's life in the present. Writing aboutGarden TimeinThe New York Times,Jeff Gordinier suggests that "Merwin's work feels like part of some timeless continuum, a river that stretches all the way back toHan ShanandLi Po."[19]

In 2017,Copper Canyon PresspublishedThe Essential W. S. Merwin,a book which traces the seven-decade legacy of Merwin's poetry, with selections ranging from his 1952 debut,A Mask for Janus,to 2016'sGarden Time,as well as a selection of translations and lesser-known prose narratives. Merwin's literary papers are held at theRare Book & Manuscript Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.The collection consists of some 5,500 archival items, and 450 printed books.[20][21]

Death

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Merwin lived on land that was part of a pineapple plantation, on the northeast coast ofMaui, Hawaii.[4][5]

W.S Merwin died on March 15, 2019, in his sleep at his home, as reported by his publisher Copper Canyon Press.[22]

Awards

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Other accolades

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Merwin's hometown honored him in 2006 by renaming a local street near his childhood home W. S. Merwin Way.[7]

Bibliography

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Main article:W. S. Merwin bibliography

Other sources

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References

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  1. ^"Amazon.com Official Profile".Amazon.RetrievedOctober 7,2012.
  2. ^ab"Poetry".Past winners & finalists by category.The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
  3. ^"2005 National Book Awards Winners and Finalists, The National Book Foundation".Nationalbook.org.RetrievedJanuary 21,2018.
  4. ^abcdKennicott, Philip (July 1, 2010)."W. S. Merwin, Hawaii-based poet, will serve as 17th U.S. laureate".The Washington Post.RetrievedJuly 1,2010.
  5. ^abcdCohen, Patricia (June 30, 2010)."W. S. Merwin to Be Named Poet Laureate".The New York Times.RetrievedJuly 9,2010.
  6. ^"Archive of past prize winners for the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literature".Donald Keene Center.RetrievedFebruary 26,2024.
  7. ^abcDiaz, Lana Rose. "Merwin Speaks";The Union City Reporter,July 11, 2010, pages 1 & 9.
  8. ^"About W. S. Merwin".English.illinois.edu.RetrievedJanuary 21,2018.
  9. ^Smith, Dinitia (February 19, 1995)."A Poet of Their Own".The New York Times.RetrievedMarch 30,2010.
  10. ^"An Online Interview with W. S. Merwin".English.illinois.edu.RetrievedJanuary 21,2018.
  11. ^Wutz, Michael; Crimmel, Hal (May 21, 2015).Conversations with W. S. Merwin.Univ. Press of Mississippi.ISBN978-1-62674-619-0.RetrievedJanuary 21,2018– via Google Books.
  12. ^"Today's poem is" asunder "".Verse Daily.RetrievedFebruary 17,2017.
  13. ^Mosson, Gregg."American Poetry: Vietnam and Today".The Potomac.RetrievedFebruary 17,2017.
  14. ^Michael Wutz, Hal Crimmel, Michael and Hal Crimmel (2015).Conversations with W. S. Merwin.Jackson: Univ. Press of Mississippi.ISBN978-1-62846-222-7.RetrievedFebruary 17,2017.
  15. ^ab"National Book Awards – 2005".National Book Foundation.Retrieved 2012-04-08.
    (With acceptance speech by Merwin, essay by Patrick Rosal from the Awards 60-year anniversary blog, and other material.)
  16. ^Kramer, Michael (October 8, 1998)."Hawaii's History, By Chapter and Verse"(PDF).Newsday.RetrievedFebruary 17,2017.
  17. ^"Featured Scholars and Poets – The Buddha".Pbs.org.RetrievedJanuary 21,2018.
  18. ^"The Merwin Conservancy".The Merwin Conservancy.RetrievedMarch 16,2019.
  19. ^Gordinier, Jeff (September 19, 2016)."Memories Distilled by 2 Radically Different Poets".The New York Times.RetrievedJanuary 21,2018.
  20. ^W.S. Merwin papers (Merwin 1).Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
  21. ^W.S. Merwin personal collection of books.Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
  22. ^"Poet W. S. Merwin, Who Was Inspired By Conservation, Dies At 91".NPR.org.March 15, 2019.RetrievedMarch 16,2019.
  23. ^abMerwin biographyat Poetry Foundation, Accessed October 23, 2010
  24. ^abcdefghijklmBrennan, Elizabeth A. and Elizabeth C. Clarage,"1971: W. S. Merwin"article, p. 534,Who's Who of Pulitzer Prize WinnersPhoenix, Arizona: The Oryx Press (1999),ISBN1-57356-111-8,retrieved via Google Books on June 8, 2010
  25. ^abcdefNews release,"Poet W. S. Merwin Reads at Library of Congress October 15,September 22, 1997, Library of Congress website, retrieved June 8, 2010
  26. ^Routledge Staff (2003).International Who's Who of Authors and Writers 2004.Routledge. p. 383.ISBN1-85743-179-0.RetrievedJuly 20,2008.
  27. ^abcW. S. MerwinArchivedOctober 1, 2005, at theWayback Machineat Barclay Agency, Accessed October 23, 2010
  28. ^"Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement".achievement.org.American Academy of Achievement.
  29. ^"The 2009 Pulitzer Prize Winners/Poetry",Pulitzer.org; Accessed October 23, 2010
  30. ^"Kenyon Review for Literary Achievement".KenyonReview.org.
  31. ^"There's a flame in me that thinks…"ArchivedApril 11, 2019, at theWayback Machine.Fundacja im. Zbigniewa Herberta. Retrieved January 25, 2014.

Further reading

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