Centenary Year: 2027
A Year of Celebration
In 2027, The Merwin Conservancy will celebrate William’s 100th birthday, as well as the 50th anniversary of his arrival here in Peʻahi. A suite of programming, publications, and cultural partnerships honoring William’s life and work will unfold across the coming year.
These include the publication of The Poet’s Garden: W.S. Merwin’s Palm Forest, forthcoming with Timber Press; the launch of The Merwin Conservancy Books, an imprint of Copper Canyon Press; public programming presented with organizations across Hawaiʻi and the continent; a podcast with Hawaiʻi Public Radio; and more. Scroll down to learn more about these and other initiatives as they develop.
The Merwin Conservancy Books
The Merwin Conservancy Books, a new imprint of Copper Canyon Press, celebrates the singular legacy of W.S. Merwin. The inaugural collection—The Way Back: Nature Writings—will be published in 2027, in commemoration of William’s 100th birthday.
Introduced by acclaimed eco-writer Robert MacFarlane and edited by William’s longtime editor Michael Wiegers, The Way Back gathers ecologically themed poems, essays, translations, and rare archival materials from across William’s life. This initiative will go toward the care of William and Paula Merwin’s garden.
“A garden is made of hope, which contributes to its pleasure and its fragility. It cannot be proven, nor clutched, nor hurried. And the hope of a palm garden is to be a palm forest.”
W.S. Merwin
The Poet’s Garden: W.S. Merwin’s Palm Forest
Timber Press will publish The Poet’s Garden: W.S. Merwin’s Palm Forest—co-authored by Executive Director Sonnet Coggins and Associate Director Nina Peláez—in September. Former Merwin Conservancy resident Ada Limón has written the foreword.
Hawaiʻi Public Radio Podcast
A new podcast is in the works, by way of a collaboration with Hawaiʻi Public Radio. It will highlight the voices of some of our past and upcoming writers-in-residence, carrying their vision, and the work made while here on Maui, across the ocean and feature the following voices across the year.
Programs & Partnerships
A series of programs presented collaboratively with partners here in Hawaiʻi, across the continent, and beyond will take place across the year.
Current plans include programs with Merwin Conservancy friends and former residents here on Maui, and also in Honolulu, Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Austin and New York. We will share more about all of these programs in the coming months.
Save the date for the following confirmed events:
February 25 — Harry Ransom Center in Austin, TX
March 19 — Chicago Athletic Club in Chicago, IL
April 29 — Seattle Town Hall in Seattle, WA
September 30 — 92Y NYC in New York, NY
American Writers Museum Podcast
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The Merwin Archive at the Harry Ransom Center
After many years of gathering William’s papers from every corner of the house, the letters, photographs, and manuscripts we have assembled were moved to a new home at the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin, an internationally renowned humanities research center.
William’s papers join the Ransom Center’s extensive collections, which “provide unique insight into the creative process of some of our finest writers and artists, deepening the understanding and appreciation of literature, photography, film, art, and the performing arts.” Not only will the papers be carefully preserved, they will be enlivened by the Ransom Center’s research fellowships and rich programming.
The Merwin archive will open at the Harry Ransom Center in early 2027.
The Garden Evolves
Our long term vision for the garden continues to deepen and evolve W.S. Merwin’s gardening practice, perpetuating his distinctive horticultural approach and profound sense of care for the land.
In 2027, the palm sanctuary will gradually extend into the unplanted acres with a focus on loulu, Pacific Island palms, and endangered palms from around the world. This work—done by hand and on a human scale—preserves the contemplative, physical and deeply personal relationship between mind, hand and spirit that has long defined the garden.
The Centenary Circle Grove planting, to take place in 2027, will focus on loulu (Pritchardia spp.)—honoring William’s legacy while establishing a new generation’s relationship with the land.
Through deliberate, responsive and patient acts of cultivation, the garden will continue to flourish as a living expression of botanical diversity, conservation and stewardship while leaving space for future generations to develop their own gestures of care, shaped by their time relating to this ever-changing place.
The Centenary Circle
As we step toward William’s 100th birthday in 2027, we have created The Centenary Circle—a fundraising effort to ensure that the expression of William and Paula Merwin’s vision continues to grow, evolve, and thrive under our collective care.
Through a three-year major gift commitment, Centenary Circle members invest in the future of The Merwin Conservancy and its programs.
Centenary Circle members will be invited to special commemorative events we are planning in Hawaiʻi and across the country in the centenary year, including a gathering here in Peʻahi to plant a native palm or understory plant—our first gesture toward the expansion of the garden into the 8 acres William and Paula didn’t reach in their lifetimes.
Please contact Sonnet Coggins, Executive Director, to learn more.
Thank you to all Centenary Circle members who have made gifts and pledged support. We will update this list of acknowledgements as generous donors join our Circle.
$100,000+ annually
The Jonathan and Kathleen Altman Foundation
$50,000+ annually
Anonymous
Diana Tomseth
$25,000+ annually
$15,000+ annually
The Campizondo Family Foundation
Colleen Chartier and Richard Andrews
Karen A. Levesque and Matthew C. Schwartz
$10,000+ annually
Carol Bauer
Jeanne Herbert
Susan Kean
Jana and Howard Wolff
$5,000+ annually
Robert Becker
Suzanne E Rapp and Mark R Hamilton
Meda and Ian Lind
Mary and Michael Lock
Nancy and Larry Mohr
Michael Moore
Crystal Smythe
Marsha Trimble
$2,500+ annually
$1,000+ annually
Lillian Ball
Suellen Barton
Pamela Brennan
Janie and Mark Davis
Katherine Florence
Sarah Funke Butler
Janie and Mark Davis
Joan and David Grubin
Mary Hattori
Li Hay
Jordan Kandell
Pam Lichty
Katherine Maxfield
Patricia and Richard Missler
Timothy Moore
Walter Parsons
Marisa Leigh Valente
Jean Vercillo
Whitsitt Family Fund
