William Stanley Merwin (September 30, 1927 / New York / United States)
William Stanley Merwin (born 30 September 1927 ) is an American poet. He made a name for himself as an anti-war poet during the 1960s. Later, he would evolve toward mythological themes and develop a unique prosody characterized by indirect narration and the absence of punctuation. In the 80s and 90s, Merwin's interest in Buddhist philosophy and deep ecology also influenced his writing. He continues to write prolifically, though he also dedicates significant time to the restoration of rainforests in Hawaii, where he currently resides.
Merwin has received many honors, including the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (in both 1971 and 2009) and the Tanning Prize, one of the highest honors ... more »
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Quotations
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''The sea curling,
William Stanley Merwin (b. 1927), U.S. poet. Leviathan (l. 36-39). . . New Oxford Book of American Verse, The. Richard Ellmann, ed. (1976) Oxford ...
Star-climbed, wind-combed, cumbered with itself still
As at first it was, is the hand no yet contented
Of the Creator. And he waits for the world to begin.'' -
''This is the black sea-brute bulling through wave-wrack,''
William Stanley Merwin (b. 1927), U.S. poet. Leviathan (l. 1). . . New Oxford Book of American Verse, The. Richard Ellmann, ed. (1976) Oxford Univ... -
''Your absence has gone through me
William Stanley Merwin (b. 1927), U.S. poet. Separation (l. 1-2). . . Norton Anthology of Poetry, The. Alexander W. Allison and others, eds. (3d e...
Like thread through a needle.'' -
''The ghosts of the villages trail in the sky
William Stanley Merwin (b. 1927), U.S. poet. The Asians Dying (l. 8-9). . . New Oxford Book of American Verse, The. Richard Ellmann, ed. (1976) Ox...
Making a new twilight''
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Where is Separation? ? ! ! !