Poetry. The nuanced mysteries of light, darkness, presence, and memory are central themes in W.S. Merwin's new book of poems. "I have only what I remember," Merwin admits, and his memories are focused and profound-the distinct qualities of autumn light, a conversation with a boyhood teacher, well- cultivated loves, and "our long evenings and astonishment." In "Photographer," Merwin presents the scene where armloads of antique glass negatives are saved from a dumpcart by "someone who understood." In "Empty Lot," Merwin evokes a child lying in bed at night, listening to the muffled dynamite blasts of coal mining near his home, and we can't help but ask: How shall we mine our lives? W.S. Merwin, author of over fifty books, is America's foremost poet. His last two books were honored with major literary awards: MIGRATION won the National Book Award, and PRESENT COMPANY received the Bobbitt Prize from the Library of Congress.

Author Hometown: HAIKU, HI USA



About the author: During a sixty-year writing career with more than thirty books, W.S. Merwin has received nearly every major literary award, including the National Book Award in 2005 for MIGRATION: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS. He is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize; in 2009 for THE SHADOW OF SIRIUS and in 1971 for The Carrier of Ladders. In 2006 he won the Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry from the Library of Congress for PRESENT COMPANY. Merwin lives in Hawaii where he raises endangered palm trees. He was appointed the Library of Congress's seventeenth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry for 2010-2011.

Reviews:
http://coldfrontmag.com/reviews/the-shadow-of-sirius
http://edwardbyrne.blogspot.com/2009/12/poet-of-year-ws-merwin.html