The poetry world lost a big one in W.S. Merwin today. What’s amazing is how much an obituary teaches you about a person. Palm gardens. Walden on the Pacific. Hawaii!
Oh, and poetry, too. So much poetry. Not to mention essays, short fiction, a memoir (Summer Doorways, which I enjoyed last year), and copious amounts of poetry, which would win him a National Book Award once and the Pulitzer twice.
Not bad for a day’s work.
You can read a fine obituary on W.S. Merwin here, on the New York Times’ website.
Fare thee well, William Stanley. You will be missed!