A remarkable volume of poems about the people, countryside, and creatures of southwest France—from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and “one of the greatest poets of our age … the Thoreau of our era” (Edward Hirsch).
“One of the most distinctive and original voices in American poetry" (The New Yorker) and winner of the Marshall, Bollingen, Pulitzer, and other important prizes for mastery of his art delivers a major collection.
"One of the greatest poets of our age. He is a rare spiritual presence in American life and letters (the Thoreau of our era).” —Edward Hirsch
"Merwin has always been a contemplative poet, drawn to the lessons of the natural world and the rigors of unmediated vision. He has also been a romantic poet, heroic in his quest for the depths and intensities, the powers and possibilities of consciousness. Best of all, he has been a surprising poet, continually slipping the bonds of anyone's easy admiration." —The New Yorker
W. S. MERWIN was born in New York City in 1927 and grew up in Union City, New Jersey, and in Scranton, Pennsylvania. From 1949 to 1951 he worked as a tutor in France, Portugal, and Majorca, and over the course of his life, he lived in many parts of the world.
He was the recipient of many awards and prizes, including the Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets, the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, the Bollingen Prize in Poetry, the Governor's Award for Literature of the state of Hawaii, the Tanning Prize for mastery in the art of poetry, a Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Writers' Award, and the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. He died in 2019.
View titles by W. S. Merwin
A remarkable volume of poems about the people, countryside, and creatures of southwest France—from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and “one of the greatest poets of our age … the Thoreau of our era” (Edward Hirsch).
“One of the most distinctive and original voices in American poetry" (The New Yorker) and winner of the Marshall, Bollingen, Pulitzer, and other important prizes for mastery of his art delivers a major collection.
Reviews
"One of the greatest poets of our age. He is a rare spiritual presence in American life and letters (the Thoreau of our era).” —Edward Hirsch
"Merwin has always been a contemplative poet, drawn to the lessons of the natural world and the rigors of unmediated vision. He has also been a romantic poet, heroic in his quest for the depths and intensities, the powers and possibilities of consciousness. Best of all, he has been a surprising poet, continually slipping the bonds of anyone's easy admiration." —The New Yorker
Author
W. S. MERWIN was born in New York City in 1927 and grew up in Union City, New Jersey, and in Scranton, Pennsylvania. From 1949 to 1951 he worked as a tutor in France, Portugal, and Majorca, and over the course of his life, he lived in many parts of the world.
He was the recipient of many awards and prizes, including the Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets, the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, the Bollingen Prize in Poetry, the Governor's Award for Literature of the state of Hawaii, the Tanning Prize for mastery in the art of poetry, a Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Writers' Award, and the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. He died in 2019.
View titles by W. S. Merwin