Tag Archive for 'pulitzer'

2010 Poet Laureate: W.S. Merwin

jordan published on July 2, 2010 in art. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

I know it’s not the 2nd or 4th Friday of the month, but when I read this in the paper today, I had to share it with all of you:

W.S. Merwin Appointed as Next Poet Laureate

(via Matt Valentine/Library of Congress/AP Photo)

What is the Poet Laureate?  An honorary position appointed by the US government to a poet to promote the artform on a national level.  Who is W.S. Merwin?  At 83 he is perhaps the greatest living poet — a master who won his second Pulitzer Prize in 2009 for his book The Shadow of Sirius.

He’s also my favorite poet of all time (after Neruda, whose work we would not be able to truly appreciate without Merwin’s translations).  You can read my previous posts about Merwin here and here.

A Zen Buddhist and an outspoken environmentalist who lives on his own Zero One like converted plantation in Haiku, Maui — Merwin embodies many of the ideals we strive for at SuperForest.

For A Coming Extinction

Gray whale
Now that we are sending you to The End
That great god
Tell him
That we who follow you invented forgiveness
And forgive nothing

I write as though you could understand
And I could say it
One must always pretend something
Among the dying
When you have left the seas nodding on their stalks
Empty of you
Tell him that we were made
On another day

The bewilderment will diminish like an echo
Winding along your inner mountains
Unheard by us
And find its way out
Leaving behind it the future
Dead
And ours

When you will not see again
The whale calves trying the light
Consider what you will find in the black garden
And its court
The sea cows the Great Auks the gorillas
The irreplaceable hosts ranged countless
And fore-ordaining as stars
Our sacrifices
Join your work to theirs
Tell him
That it is we who are important

It’s truly a great day for poetry and a great day for SuperForest.  If you’ve never read Merwin before, here’s several links where you can immerse yourself in the magic of his words (and voice): npr.org, pbs.org, poemhunter.

Found Poetry Friday: W.S. Merwin

jordan published on July 24, 2009 in art and celebrity. 1 Comment Tags: , , , .

On the 2nd and 4th Friday of every month SuperForester Jordan “rediscovers” a literary gem from the vast treasure trove of an art form that, in our technological age, has become largely under-appreciated and “lost”.

It is with great pleasure today that I present perhaps my overall favorite poet (who happens to live in Hawaii, my favorite place).  W.S. Merwin.

To read Merwin across his 55 year poetic career is to witness the evolution of contemporary poetry in action.  From traditional form to political activism, from naturalism to environmental activism… Merwin’s words have spoken to all.  And at the young ripe age of 82 , he became in April of this year, one of the few poets to be awarded 2 Pulitzers in a lifetime.

Thanks

 
Listen
with the night falling we are saying thank you
we are stopping on the bridges to bow from the railings
we are running out of the glass rooms
with our mouths full of food to look at the sky
and say thank you
we are standing by the water thanking it
smiling by the windows looking out
in our directions 

back from a series of hospitals back from a mugging
after funerals we are saying thank you
after the news of the dead
whether or not we knew them we are saying thank you

over telephones we are saying thank you
in doorways and in the backs of cars and in elevators
remembering wars and the police at the door
and the beatings on stairs we are saying thank you
in the banks we are saying thank you
in the faces of the officials and the rich
and of all who will never change
we go on saying thank you thank you

with the animals dying around us
our lost feelings we are saying thank you
with the forests falling faster than the minutes
of our lives we are saying thank you
with the words going out like cells of a brain
with the cities growing over us
we are saying thank you faster and faster
with nobody listening we are saying thank you
we are saying thank you and waving
dark though it is

Listening to Merwin speak and read his own poetry on NPR recently, I was reminded of how much I love the man and his work.  What a tremendous grasp of language and the deep mysteries, complexities and emotions it can touch and unlock.  How hugely my own work and perspective have been shaped by Merwin’s words.

I highly recommend listening to the NPR broadcast.  Hearing him read in that deep steady voice is otherworldy.  You can stream it here now.  Or link to the NPR website here, where you can download the podcast to your ipod.

And click this blue: w_s_merwin — to read more brilliant poems by an absolute master.