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W. S. Merwin

ウィリアム・スタンリー・マーヴィン

W. S. Merwin

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1927-09-30 （New York City, U.S.）
Died
2019-03-15 （Haiku, Maui, Hawaii, U.S.） age 91
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Presbyterian (childhood), later influenced by Zen Buddhism
Residence History
New York City (birth) → Union City, New Jersey (childhood) → Scranton, Pennsylvania → Spain (residence/stay) → London, UK → New York City (Greenwich Village) → Cambridge/Boston, Massachusetts → Haiku, Maui, Hawaii (later life residence)

Career

Occupations
Poet, Translator, Editor, Essayist
Active Years
1952-2019
Influenced By
R. P. Blackmur, Robert Graves, Robert Aitken (Zen teacher), Zen Buddhist thought
Influenced
Later American poets, including Vietnam War-era and contemporary poets influenced by his style

Education

Princeton University
English
Degree: B.A.
Period: 1944–1948
Year of Graduation: 1948
Country: United States
Stayed at Princeton for an additional year for graduate work

Awards

Yale Younger Poets Prize
1952
Work: A Mask for Janus
Organization: Yale University
Result: winner
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
1971
Work: The Carrier of Ladders
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Board
Result: winner
Bollingen Prize for Poetry
1979
Organization: Yale University Library
Result: winner
Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize
1993
Work: Travels
Organization: Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize (American Academy of Poets / associated organizations)
Result: winner
The Tanning Prize
1993
Organization: Academy of American Poets
Result: winner
National Book Award for Poetry
2005
Work: Migration: New and Selected Poems
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: winner
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
2009
Work: The Shadow of Sirius
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Board
Result: winner
United States Poet Laureate
2010
Organization: Library of Congress
Result: appointed (2010–2011)
Golden Wreath of the Struga Poetry Evenings
2004
Organization: Struga Poetry Evenings
Result: winner
Lannan Lifetime Achievement Award
2004
Organization: Lannan Foundation
Result: winner
Japan–U.S. Friendship Commission Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literature
2013
Work: Collected Haiku of Yosa Buson (translation, with Takako Lento)
Organization: Japan–U.S. Friendship Commission Prize (co-awarded)
Result: winner (with Takako Lento)
Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award
2013
Organization: Zbigniew Herbert Foundation
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

A Mask for Janus

1952 Poetry

Debut poetry collection containing early poems that signal themes and styles developed later in his career.

selfmemorynature

The Drunk in the Furnace

1960 Poetry

An early significant work marking a turn toward more autobiographical writing, moving from mythic themes to personal narration.

mythanimalsautobiography

The Carrier of Ladders

1971 Poetry

Pulitzer Prize–winning collection (1971) demonstrating Merwin's mature poetic voice.

maturitylanguageexistence

Folding Cliffs: A Narrative

1998 Poetry (novel-in-verse / narrative)

An ambitious novel-in-verse about Hawaii combining history and legend in a narrative poetic form.

Hawaiihistorylegend

Migration: New and Selected Poems

2005 Poetry

A selection of new and selected poems; winner of the 2005 National Book Award for Poetry.

retrospectnaturemigration

The Shadow of Sirius

2008 Poetry

Pulitzer Prize–winning (2009) collection of short poems exploring nature, aging, and loss.

natureagingloss

Garden Time

2016 Poetry

A late collection composed during his loss of eyesight; a book about aging and living in the present.

agingpresent momentgarden and nature

Bibliography

  • A Mask for Janus (1952)
  • The Drunk in the Furnace (1960)
  • The Carrier of Ladders (1971)
  • Folding Cliffs: A Narrative (1998)
  • Migration: New and Selected Poems (2005)
  • The Shadow of Sirius (2008)
  • Garden Time (2016)

Adaptations

  • Documentary 'Even Though the Whole World Is Burning'
  • PBS one-hour version 'To Plant a Tree'

Translations by Author

  • Dante's Purgatorio (translation) and others
  • Lazarillo de Tormes (translation from Spanish)
  • Collected Haiku of Yosa Buson (co-translation with Takako Lento)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Indirect, unpunctuated narrationConcise, meditative diction
Recurring Motifs
nature (notably trees and fauna)aging and lossBuddhist reflectionmemory and history

Health

  • Vision loss (late life)
    2010年代〜晩年
    Decline in eyesight led him to dictate poems to his wife to continue writing

Legacy

A major American poet of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, winner of two Pulitzer Prizes and a National Book Award among many honors. Deeply involved in conservation in Hawaii and founder of the Merwin Conservancy to preserve his home and restored rainforest property.

Museums

  • The Merwin Conservancy Haiku, Maui, Hawaii Opened in 2010

Academic Societies

  • Academy of American Poets (associated)

Archives

  • Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (W. S. Merwin papers)

In Popular Culture

  • Documentary film 'Even Though the Whole World Is Burning'
  • PBS broadcast 'To Plant a Tree'

Trivia

  • His father was a Presbyterian minister in his childhood.
  • Union City renamed a street W. S. Merwin Way in his honor in 2006.
  • He won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry twice (1971 and 2009).
  • Named the 17th United States Poet Laureate in 2010.