Poet Spotlight: W.S. Merwin

"It is possible for a poet to assume his gift of articulation
as a responsibility not only to the fates but to his neighbors, and to feel himself obligated to try to speak for those who are in circumstances resembling his own, but who are less capable of bearing witness to them." --W.S. Merwin

W.S. Merwin grew up not more than 10 miles from Newark, in Union City, NJ. There, at the intersection of New York Ave. and 4th Street, you'll find "W.S. Merwin Way". Merwin was born in New York City in 1927 and later attended college at Princeton University. While going to school there Merwin studied under such poets as John Berryman and R. P. Blackmur. He is the author of more than 15 books of poetry and nearly 20 books of translation, including Dante's Purgatorio. Merwin traveled extensively throughout France, Spain and England. The Lost Upland is the title of Merwin's memoir of his life in the south of France. He now lives on a hillside in Hawaii.
Merwin's poetry ranges from motifs of nature to poems focusing on the seemingly minute daily interactions humans encounter in life. He often writes about people from his life, modified through the haze of memory. The following is a poem from Merwin, entitled "Just Now"

Just Now

In the morning as the storm begins to blow away
the clear sky appears for a moment and it seems to me
that there has been something simpler than I could ever
believe
simpler than I could have begun to find words for
not patient not even waiting no more hidden
than the air itself that became part of me for a while
with every breath and remained with me unnoticed
something that was here unnamed unknown in the days
and the nights not separate from them
not separate from them as they came and were gone
it must have been here neither early nor late then
by what name can I address it now holding out my thanks



W.S. Merwin Links
Modern American Poetry - W.S. Merwin
Poets.Org (From the American Academy of Poets) - W.S. Merwin