William Stanley Merwin (September 30, 1927 – March 15, 2019) was an American poet who wrote more than fifty books of poetry and

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

and produced many works in

translation Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...

. During the 1960s

anti-war movement An anti-war movement is a social movement in opposition to one or more nations' decision to start or carry on an armed conflict. The term ''anti-war'' can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during con ...

, Merwin's unique craft was thematically characterized by indirect, unpunctuated narration. In the 1980s and 1990s, his writing influence derived from an interest in

Buddhist philosophy Buddhist philosophy is the ancient Indian Indian philosophy, philosophical system that developed within the religio-philosophical tradition of Buddhism. It comprises all the Philosophy, philosophical investigations and Buddhist logico-episte ...

and

deep ecology Deep ecology is an environmental philosophy that promotes the inherent worth of all living beings regardless of their instrumental utility to human needs, and argues that modern human societies should be restructured in accordance with such idea ...

. Residing in a rural part of

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

, Hawaii, he wrote prolifically and was dedicated to the restoration of the island's

rainforests Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

. Merwin received many honors, including the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1971 and 2009;"Poetry"
''Past winners & finalists by category''. The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved April 8, 2012. the National Book Award for Poetry in 2005, and the Tanning Prize — one of the highest honors bestowed by the Academy of American Poets — as well as the Golden Wreath of the

Struga Poetry Evenings Struga Poetry Evenings (SPE) (, СВП; tr. ''Struški večeri na poezijata'', ''SVP'') is an international poetry festival held annually in Struga, North Macedonia. During the several decades of its existence, the Festival has awarded its most ...

. In 2010, the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

named him the 17th United States Poet Laureate. Alongside co-author Takako Lento, he received the Japan–U.S. Friendship Commission Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literature in 2013 for their translation of '' Collected Haiku of Yosa Buson''.

Early life

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 in

Union City, New Jersey Union City is a City (New Jersey), city in the North Hudson, New Jersey, northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was List of municipalities in Ne ...

, and lived there until 1936, when his family moved to

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

. 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.Diaz, Lana Rose. "Merwin Speaks"; '' The Union City Reporter'', July 11, 2010, pages 1 & 9. At the age of five he started writing hymns for his father, a Presbyterian minister.

Career

Early career: 1952–1976

Merwin graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

with a B.A. in English in 1948, where he studied with R.P. Blackmur and befriended Blackmur's graduate assistant, the poet John Berryman. He stayed at Princeton a year afterward to do graduate work. In 1952, Merwin married Dorothy Jeanne Ferry, and moved to Spain. During his stay there, while visiting the renowned poet

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was an English poet, soldier, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were b ...

at his homestead on the island of

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

, 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 to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

for a fellowship at the Poets' Theater. He returned to London, where he befriended

Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath (; October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet and author. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for '' The Colossus and Other Poems'' (1960), '' Ariel'' (1965), a ...

and

Ted Hughes Edward James Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation and one of the twentieth century's greatest writers. He wa ...

. 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. From 1956 to 1957, Merwin was also playwright-in-residence at the Poet's Theatre in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

; he became poetry editor at ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

'' in 1962. Besides being a prolific poet, he was a respected translator of Spanish, French, Latin and Italian literature and poetry (including

Lazarillo de Tormes ''The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes and of His Fortunes and Adversities'' ( ) is a Spanish novella, published anonymously because of its anticlerical content. It was published simultaneously in three cities in 1554: Alcalá de Henares, Burgos a ...

and

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

's '' Purgatorio'') as well as poetry from

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

, Japanese and Quechua. He served as selector of poems of the American poet Craig Arnold (1967–2009). Merwin is known for his poetry about the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

and can be included among the canon of Vietnam War-era poets which includes writers Robert Bly, Robert Duncan,

Adrienne Rich Adrienne Cecile Rich ( ; May 16, 1929 – March 27, 2012) was an American poet, essayist and feminist. She was called "one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century", and was credited with bringing "the ...

, Denise Levertov,

Robert Lowell Robert Traill Spence Lowell IV (; March 1, 1917 – September 12, 1977) was an American poet. He was born into a Boston Brahmin family that could trace its origins back to the ''Mayflower''. His family, past and present, were important subjects ...

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...

and Yusef Komunyakaa. Merwin's early subjects were frequently tied to mythological or legendary themes, while many of his poems featured animals. A volume called ''The Drunk in the Furnace'' (1960) marked a change for Merwin, in that he began to write in a more autobiographical way. In the 1960s, Merwin lived in a small apartment in New York City's

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

Later career: 1977–2019

Merwin's volume ''Migration: New and Selected Poems'' won the 2005 National Book Award for poetry. In 1998, Merwin wrote ''Folding Cliffs: A Narrative'', an ambitious novel-in-verse about Hawaiʻi in history and legend. '' The Shadow of Sirius'', published in 2008 by Copper Canyon Press, was awarded the 2009

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

for poetry. In June 2010, the Library of Congress named Merwin the seventeenth United States Poet Laureate, to replace the outgoing Kay Ryan. He is the subject of the 2014 feature documentary film '' Even Though the Whole World Is Burning'', directed by

Stefan Schaefer Stefan Schaefer is an American filmmaker and entrepreneur. Schaefer's work as a screenwriter and director includes films that have been screened at festivals such as South by Southwest and the Berlin International Film Festival. His feature film ...

. A one-hour version, entitled "To Plant a Tree", was broadcast nationally on PBS. Merwin appeared in the PBS documentary ''

The Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

'', released in 2010. He had moved to Hawaii to study with the Zen Buddhist master Robert Aitken in 1976. 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,

, 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. 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 about ''Garden Time'' in ''The 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 to Han Shan and Li Po." In 2017, Copper Canyon Press published ''The 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's ''Garden Time'', as well as a selection of translations and lesser-known prose narratives. Merwin's literary papers are held at the Rare Book & Manuscript Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. The collection consists of some 5,500 archival items, and 450 printed books.

Death

Merwin lived on land that was part of a pineapple plantation, on the northeast coast of

Maui, Hawaii Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

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

Awards

*1952: Yale Younger Poets Prize for ''A Mask for Janus''Merwin biography
at Poetry Foundation, Accessed October 23, 2010 * 1954: '' Kenyon Review'' Fellowship in PoetryBrennan, Elizabeth A. and Elizabeth C. Clarage
"1971: W. S. Merwin"
article, p. 534, ''Who's Who of Pulitzer Prize Winners'' Phoenix, Arizona: The Oryx Press (1999), , retrieved via Google Books on June 8, 2010 * 1956: Rockefeller Fellowship * 1957: National Institute of Arts and Letters grant * 1957: Playwrighting Bursary, Arts Council of Great Britain * 1961: Rabinowitz Foundation Grant * 1962: Bess Hokin Prize, '' Poetry magazine'' * 1964/1965:

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

Grant * 1966: Chapelbrook Foundation Fellowship * 1967: Harriet Monroe Memorial Prize, ''Poetry'' magazine * 1969: PEN Translation Prize for ''Selected Translations 1948–1968''News release
"Poet W. S. Merwin Reads at Library of Congress October 15
September 22, 1997, Library of Congress website, retrieved June 8, 2010 * 1969:

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

Grant * 1971: Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for ''The Carrier of Ladders'' (published in 1971) * 1973: Academy of American Poets Fellowship * 1974: Shelley Memorial Award * 1979: Bollingen Prize for Poetry, Yale University Library * 1987: Governor's Award for Literature of the state of Hawaii * 1990: Maurice English Poetry Award * 1993: The Tanning Prize for mastery in the art of poetry * 1993: Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize for ''Travels'' * 1994: Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Writers' Award * 1999: Poetry Consultant to the Library of Congress, a jointly held position with Rita Dove and Louise GlückW. S. Merwin
at Barclay Agency, Accessed October 23, 2010 * 2005: National Book Award for Poetry for ''Migration: New and Selected Poems''"National Book Awards – 2005"

National Book Foundation The National Book Foundation (NBF) is an American nonprofit organization established with the goal "to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America." Established in 1989 by National Book Awards, Inc.,Edwin McDowell. "Book Notes: ...

. Retrieved 2012-04-08.
(With acceptance speech by Merwin, essay by Patrick Rosal from the Awards 60-year anniversary blog, and other material.) * 2004: Golden Wreath Award of the Struga Poetry Evenings Festival in Macedonia * 2004: Lannan Lifetime Achievement Award * 2008: Golden Plate Award,

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving people in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet one ano ...

* 2009: Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for ''The Shadow of Sirius'' (published in 2008) *2010: Kenyon Review Award for Literary Achievement *2010: United States Poet Laureate *2013: Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award"There's a flame in me that thinks…"
. Fundacja im. Zbigniewa Herberta. Retrieved January 25, 2014.

Other accolades

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

Bibliography

References

Sources

*'' The Union City Reporter'' (March 12, 2006).

External links

The Merwin Conservancy

W. S. Merwin at Poets.org

Profile and poems of W. S. Merwin, including audio files
at the Poetry Foundation
"Two Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry"
Academy of Achievement, July 3, 2008
W.S. Merwin: To Plant a Tree
PBS
Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
Emory University
Letters to W.S. (William Stanley) and Dido Merwin, 1958–1969
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merwin, W. S. 1927 births 2019 deaths American pacifists American poets laureate American Presbyterians Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters National Book Award winners The New Yorker people Writers from Union City, New Jersey Writers from Scranton, Pennsylvania Princeton University alumni Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winners Struga Poetry Evenings Golden Wreath laureates Translators of Dante Alighieri Translators to English Poets from Hawaii Poets from New Jersey Poets from New York City Bollingen Prize recipients American male poets Yale Younger Poets winners Wyoming Seminary alumni