W. S. Merwin
William Stanley Merwin was an American poet, credited with over fifty books of poetry, translation and prose.
William Stanley Merwin (September 30, 1927 – March 15, 2019) was an American poet who wrote more than fifty books of poetry and prose, and produced many works in translation. During the 1960s anti-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 in Buddhist philosophy and deep ecology. Residing in a rural part of Maui, Hawaii, he wrote prolifically and was dedicated to the restoration of the island's rainforests.
Merwin received many honors, including the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1971 and 2009; 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. In 2010, the Library of Congress named him the 17th United States Poet Laureate.
“What you remember saves you.”
“Inside this pencilcrouch words that have never been writtennever been spokennever been taughtthey’re hidingthey’re awake in theredark in the darkhearing usbut they won’t come outnot for love not for time not for fireeven when the dark has worn awaythey’ll still be therehiding in the airmultitudes in days to come may walk through thembreathe thembe none the wiserwhat script can it bethat they won’t unrollin what languagewould I recognize itwould I be able to follow itto make out the real namesof everythingmaybe there aren’tmanyit could be that there’s only one wordand it’s all we needit’s here in this pencilevery pencil in the worldis like this”
“On the last day of the worldI would want to plant a tree”