It is with great sadness and an abiding reverence that we say goodbye to W.S. Merwin, a true master in the art of poetry and a profound ecologist. Beyond the extraordinary legacies of his poetic and botanical achievements, William has left us all deeply inspired to make the world around us a better place through word and deed, and to see and preserve the natural world as the exquisite poem it is.
The tributes and outpouring of love we are witnessing as the news of W.S. Merwin’s death spreads around the world are both inspiring and comforting. While we mourn the loss of our dear friend William, we come together to nurture the organization that he founded with his wife Paula. It brings us joy to read your tributes, reflect on their meanings, and – as we collect many of these responses in one place to share with you all – we hope you feel it, too.
Please add your own remembrances in the comments at the bottom of this page.
President Barack Obama
“I’ve drawn inspiration from Merwin’s writing because it teaches us about ourselves, our world, and how we as humans connect to nature. Most of us don’t spend a lot of time on poetry but Merwin’s death reminded me of how a good poem can inspire and instruct.”
Edward Hirsch
Edward Hirsch remembers his long friendship with the late W. S. Merwin. https://t.co/QIATT0df66
— The Paris Review (@parisreview) March 15, 2019
Naomi Shihab Nye
Remembering W.S. Merwin, Honorary Texan https://t.co/N76y1zdwl1
— The Texas Observer (@TexasObserver) March 25, 2019
Bill McKibben
RIP W.S. Merwin, masterful poet, deep environmentalist, great friend, and a man connected to his planet like few others
— Bill McKibben (@billmckibben) March 15, 2019
On the last day of the world
I would want to plant a tree
Terry Tempest Williams
The palms Merwin planted must be both weeping over his death and celebrating his life, as we are. Oh how I loved him https://t.co/L4feANa0bG
— TerryTempestWilliams (@TempestWilliams) March 15, 2019
Beloved William Merwin passed this morning. I am so deeply grateful for his friendship, his influence, his words and the poems he leaves us
— TerryTempestWilliams (@TempestWilliams) March 15, 2019
Dr. Hope Jahren
On the last day of the world, I would want to plant a tree,” is an oft-quoted line from W.S. Merwin’s poem, “Place.” He wrote leaves of poetry, but he also grew real trees, thousands of them, writes @HopeJahren. https://t.co/mDRg8XXsSy
— NYT Opinion (@nytopinion) March 19, 2019
Re: my piece in the @nytopinion. Please visit and/or become a supporter of the Merwin Conservancy.https://t.co/uxKjZMRqpz
— Hope Jahren (@HopeJahren) March 19, 2019
Tracy K. Smith
“Merwin’s death marks a terrible loss for poetry. But the largeness of his vision, and the fact that his work is so profound as to be inexhaustible, is an immense consolation.”
— Princeton Arts (@princetonarts) March 21, 2019
— Tracy K. Smithhttps://t.co/wW9RMA47L2
Jane Hirshfield
“William is sometimes described as a poet of the numinous and absence. But he was a poet of this world, which he loved, cultivated, and restored. The poems continue to hold it all, just as each planted tree in France and in Hawaii does.” —Jane Hirshfield https://t.co/0f2RrtZqk6 pic.twitter.com/0rK8pwLvY4
— Poets.org (@POETSorg) March 17, 2019
Christopher Merrill and Alice Quinn
“Who more than Merwin endowed the day with that seed? Who could possibly approach him as a sower of immortal images in our poetry, the sounds and scents of landscapes?” https://t.co/RUavoYNzbv
— The Paris Review (@parisreview) March 19, 2019
Carrie Fountain
The New Yorker
Here’s my remembrance of Merwin & his work @NewYorker: https://t.co/IyZDfPfnRi
— Kevin Young (@Deardarkness) March 20, 2019
The poems of W. S. Merwin’s mature career were often Delphic, haunted, and bleak. They seemed to have been delivered unto him, and he transcribed them by lightning flash. https://t.co/Z4biUog5VT
— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) March 17, 2019
Kenyon Review
.@davidbakerpoet writes, “The breadth and generosity of his translations, his transcendent prose, his hope and hands-in-the-dirt ecological stewardship, his soulful presence: there is no greater example of what a poet is, to me, than William Merwin.”https://t.co/7MQ7QN0ESc
— Kenyon Review (@kenyonreview) March 16, 2019
Orion Magazine
All of us at Orion were saddened by the news of W.S. Merwin’s death. Merwin, who served as an advisor to Orion for many years, was a true friend to the magazine: https://t.co/rxTUBkLZXJ
— Orion Magazine (@Orion_Magazine) March 18, 2019
Alex Steffen
Though he is now gone from the world, W.S. Merwin remains one of America’s truly great poets—one whose words carried me through some of my darkest hours. pic.twitter.com/uxwAEeYgQ4
— Alex Steffen (@AlexSteffen) March 15, 2019
Susan Casey
We lost a giant today. Our beloved Maui friend and neighbor W.S. Merwin left us a surplus of beauty and wonder that will endure throughout time. Rest in peace with your beloved Paula, William. @merwincnsrvncy pic.twitter.com/0rSMHBBSV5
— susan casey (@caseymaui) March 15, 2019
Christopher Merrill
RIP W. S. Merwin: “I want to tell what the forests/ were like// I have to speak/in a forgotten language” Thank you for preserving and revitalizing that language.
— Christopher Merrill (@CLMerrill) March 15, 2019
Kevin Young
Saddened to hear of W.S. Merwin’s passing. He was one of the greats & one of my first poetry loves; got to interview him onstage a few years ago. The @NewYorker published over 200 of his poems over 70 years. Here’s a recent one: https://t.co/J7KGdM1BBS
— Kevin Young (@Deardarkness) March 15, 2019
Rachel Eliza Griffiths
Rachel Eliza Griffiths talks about the poetry she ripped out of magazines and carried around with her until it fell apart in her hands. https://t.co/AHU5tXvR4c
— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) April 18, 2019
Nicole Chung
“with the cities growing over us
— Nicole Chung (@nicole_soojung) March 16, 2019
we are saying thank you faster and faster
with nobody listening we are saying thank you
thank you we are saying and waving
dark though it is”
Merwin. <3 https://t.co/w28VPrVWCV
Michael Wiegers
“While we have lost a tremendous friend, the loss to American poetry is even more profound. From the stylistic inventions he introduced to the catalyzing force of his work in translation and international poetics, his influence on American poetry has been without equal.”
What an incredible life. Goodbye friend. pic.twitter.com/ItFMSrqQH0
— MWiegers (@MWiegers) March 15, 2019
Paul Holdengraber
R.I.P. W. S. MERWIN
— Paul Holdengraber (@holdengraber) March 16, 2019
‘There is only one thing I fear in life, my friend: one day, the black will swallow the red’
~ Mark Rothko pic.twitter.com/eygesbas3m
Stefan Schaefer
Kierán Suckling
W.S. Merwin (1927-2019)
— Kierán Suckling (@KieranSuckling) March 16, 2019
Have been dreading this day. Merwin was an extraordinary poet, naturalist & activist for peace, native rights and endangered species. Working with him several times has been a highlight of my years at @CenterForBioDiv. Goodbye friend.
(thread) pic.twitter.com/lZ8n6Y394r
Julianne Warren
“What you remember saves you. To remember
— ⌆ Julianne Warren ⌆ (@coyotetrail_) March 15, 2019
Is not to rehearse, but to hear what never
Has fallen silent…”–W.S. Merwin, “Learning a Dead Language”
He has given me so much to remember…
Summer Brennan
Dear W.S. Merwin, we are saying thank you. pic.twitter.com/GvXrUmG7O6
— Summer Brennan ?? (@summerbrennan) March 15, 2019
Jeffrey Brown
Great poet, great man: W.S. (William) Merwin. One of the most beautiful and inspiring days of my life, https://t.co/dmfrfyezW9 my wife and I walking through the palm reserve in Maui with William and his Paula. Love and gratitude to @wsmerwin and all @merwincnsrvncy
— Jeffrey Brown (@JeffreyBrown) March 16, 2019
Gregory Cowles
Unbearable to hear the Obits desk working the phones for W.S. Merwin. R.I.P.
— Gregory Cowles (@GregoryCowles) March 15, 2019
Seth Abrahmson
RIP, W.S. Merwin. One of the Greats. https://t.co/QxSIENrb4h
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 16, 2019
Point Reyes Books
Powell’s Books
“Poetry is a way of looking at the world for the first time.” – W. S. Merwin (1927-2019). Merwin, a former U.S. Poet Laureate, was also a practicing Buddhist who spent his last years restoring a Hawaiian rainforest. We are grateful for all the beauty he brought into this world. pic.twitter.com/9IxrEQQUfw
— Powell’s Books (@Powells) March 19, 2019
PBS NewsHour
W.S. Merwin, a prolific and versatile poetry master who evolved through a wide range of styles as he celebrated nature, condemned war and industrialism and reached for the elusive past, died Friday at the age of 91.
— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) March 15, 2019
Learn more: https://t.co/gKYwbaSscr pic.twitter.com/pVN4Kxqqd8
Poetry Foundation
We are saddened by W.S. Merwin’s passing. Spend time reflecting on his legacy in this collection of his work. https://t.co/oSBZ8EGMbc pic.twitter.com/tSlRefCAcx
— Poetry Foundation (@PoetryFound) March 15, 2019
Copper Canyon Press
Rest in peace W.S. MERWIN (1927-2019)—beloved poet, dear friend. pic.twitter.com/LlqWwTjiWi
— Copper Canyon Press (@CopperCanyonPrs) March 15, 2019
The Library of America
“The Proteus of American Poets: W.S. Merwin,” 1927–2017
PEN America
Rest in peace, W.S. Merwin. pic.twitter.com/kOYxoxrvw1
— PEN America (@PENamerican) March 15, 2019
Lit Hub
This is an enormous loss. RIP, W.S. Merwin, who died today at 91.
— Literary Hub (@lithub) March 15, 2019
https://t.co/u8kGL33JwB
The Paris Review
Rest in peace, W. S. Merwin.
— The Paris Review (@parisreview) March 15, 2019
Read our 1987 interview with the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, who passed away earlier today at the age of 91: https://t.co/1Qj1G0XkqD pic.twitter.com/EMNoGPxYT2
The New York Times
The poet W.S. Merwin has died at 91. His verse, marked by dissolution and absence, won him two Pulitzers and a National Book Award. https://t.co/pgT4uxcN16
— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 16, 2019
The Guardian
WS Merwin, Pulitzer-winning former US poet laureate, dies at 91 https://t.co/vnyNRPz2D9
— The Guardian (@guardian) March 16, 2019
Los Angeles Times
W.S. Merwin was the first poet I ever loved. I wrote a remembrance of him for the Los Angeles Times: https://t.co/RCrcdppb4y
— Michael Schaub (@michaelschaub) March 18, 2019
The Washington Post
My obit for W.S. Merwin, whose poems about the fragility of the natural world and the horrors of the Vietnam War earned him two Pulitzer Prizes and made him one of the preeminent English-language poets of the past five decades: https://t.co/OD5GVYBMTZ
— Harrison Smith (@harrisondsmith) March 15, 2019
Hawai‘i Public Radio
W.S. Merwin: Poet Laureate, Chronicler of Hawai’i History Dies at 91 https://t.co/Ff2y1AUTri
— Hawaii Public Radio (@wearehpr) March 15, 2019
Here is a link to my remembrance and tribute to William at POETRY INTERNATIONAL (a letter from Paris) …by all means do add it to the tributes above… to read, and remember, and love, and share. With my deep aloha, and love, to William, as ever, and to us all who treasured and continue to treasure him.
Margo
https://poetryinternationalonline.com/letter-from-paris-in-march-2019-from-margo-berdeshevsky/
TO A VOICE
“…the world we
cling to in common is
burning…”
—W. S. Merwin
When his breath lifted
you toward us we listened
to the green music
of wind-blown island palms
its thresh and flutter mingling with
his measured native sounds
lending them a fresh
richness that strangeness
without which beauty is not
made perfect
how did you learn to
bear it all his keen outrage
at the shamelessness
of men and his pleasure
in the presence of animals
and his joy in late love
all in words you brought
words ours and not ours
as they were and were not his
all those years
now his breath’s slipped back
into the world’s breath but you
bring the words and we
speak them and feel his breath
braiding with ours until we know
he is gone and not gone
know that thanks to you
the palm-leaf sounds thrive
in us and the burning world
touches us
through the living words