W.S. Merwin

Dreams-

Never having any limits to break,

No restrictions, no story dreamed unwritten

As it had never been thought of before.

Later forgotten over time

Then remembered, by something

That triggers a memory, and keeps living

Recreating the fantasy. There were the people

Each important in their way through your story

To be created, and one to be "real"

Everything that could have happened

Imagined into being real

Or not. Although its not. But sometimes thinking

That it is life forgotten

Which is really just a story actualized

Adventures that will never happen,

And considered, alive, reality, and lies,

Is there ever an awakening?

About Him:

• Born in New York City on September 30, 1927
• Grew up in Union City, New Jersey and Scranton, Pennsylvania

• When he was little wrote hymns for his father, and found interest in nature
• Throughout his life has married 3 times
• His career lasted over 5 decades

• His postgraduate year at Princeton University he studied Romance Languages (Romantic Languages are languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, or Rome)
• Admired translator of French, Latin, and Spanish Poetry

• Travels Through France, Spain, England, and finally settles in Majorca in 1950
• Majorca- in the Mediterranean Sea, biggest island of Spain
• There he tutors Robert Graves son (interest in Mythology)

• "The Drunk In the Furnace" (1960, a volume of poems)
• Beginning of new style of writing- more autobiographical

• Experiments with metrical irregularity- less controlled (1960's), tried different things with indirect narration (used in this time)

Influences:

• His Father was a Presbyterian Minister
• "I started writing hymns for my father, as soon as I could write at all."

• Tragedies throughout his life
• Graves is very interested in Mythology.
• Wallace Stevens, Robert Grave
• Interested in Buddhist Philosophy (80's and 90's)
• Interest in deep ecology (greater value on non-human life, species, eco systems ect…)
• Hawaii's tropical landscape- personal, symbols

His Writing:

• No punctuation
• Spends a lot of time, and effort on his pieces
• Very smart imagistic poems
• Many had mythological or legendary themes
• Many featured animals
• Anti-war poet 
• Dreamlike
• Highly praises the natural world

What he has Done:

• Written over 30 books of poetry
• A Mask For Janus- First book of poems in 1952- won the Yale Series of Younger Poets award, selected by W.H. Auden (Claire's Poet from yesterday)
• Odysseus- (1960 time period)- references to poems by Stevens and Graves who have written on the same topic
• Pulitzer Prize of Poetry- 1971, 2009
• Tanning Prize (given to by the Academy of American Poets)-
• Golden Wreathe of the Struga Poetry Evenings-

Now-

• Lives in Hawaii and spends his time trying to restore the rain forests in Hawaii.
• In 2010 the Library of Congress replaced Kay Ryan with him as the 17th United States Laureate (poet laureate- is a poet that officially recognized by the government, and expected to write poems for special State occasions) 

Overall-

• Writes very imagistic poetry
• Nature, mythology are big influences
• Influences other peoples writing