On Thursday, September 30that 12:00 pm Hawai‘i (3:00 pm Pacific, 6:00 pm Eastern), we will gather virtually with friends around the world to celebrate the legacy of W.S. Merwin on the occasion of his birthday, and to share our vision for carrying that legacy forward. We hope you can join us!
Puanani Burgess, Forrest Gander, Jorie Graham, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, Paul Holdengräber, Ada Limón, Matthew Zapruder, and Kevin Young will read selections of William’s poetry. They will be joined by other special guests soon to be announced.
We’ll share glimpses of the newly restored house and garden dojo, all set to music recorded by award-winning composer, singer-songwriter and slack-key guitarist Makana.
The Merwins’ house, the garden dojo, the garden itself were made of concerns enacted as ways of being and living. We hope you will join us for an hour to celebrate and support The Merwin Conservancy’s commitment to tending this special place in perpetuity.
If you’re unable to make the live broadcast, you can watch the replay as long as you’ve pre-registered.
The event graphic features a portion of an illustration by Chris Turnham that will be included in the forthcoming childrens’ book The Poem Forest: Poet W. S. Merwin and the Palm Tree Forest He Grew from Scratch by Carrie Fountain and Chris Turnham. The book is being published by Candlewick Press and will be released in May 2022.
