Selected Translations, 1968-1978

by W.S. Merwin

English (translation)

Genres: Poetry

125 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

William Stanley Merwin was an American poet, credited with over fifty books of poetry, translation and prose.

William Stanley Merwin (September 30, 1927 – March 15, 2019) was an American poet who wrote more than fifty books of poetry and prose, and produced many works in translation. During the 1960s anti-war movement, Merwin's unique craft was thematically characterized by indirect, unpunctuated narration. In the 1980s and 1990s, his writing influence derived from an interest in Buddhist philosophy and deep ecology. Residing in a rural part of Maui, Hawaii, he wrote prolifically and was dedicated to the restoration of the island's rainforests.

Merwin received many honors, including the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1971 and 2009; the National Book Award for Poetry in 2005, and the Tanning Prize—one of the highest honors bestowed by the Academy of American Poets—as well as the Golden Wreath of the Struga Poetry Evenings. In 2010, the Library of Congress named him the 17th United States Poet Laureate.

Reviews

[William2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a second volume of what is now a three-volume sequence. The new Copper Canyon Press edition W.S. Merwin Selected Translations contains three volumes: (1) Selected Translations 1948-1968--a much loved book that I return to frequently, (2) this second volume 1968-1978, and (3) a third volume of poetry translated since 1978. The most recent set of translations I've yet to read. This volume I recommend highly.

[MB · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of W.S. Merwin's poetry. His style is impeccable: elegant, witty, moving. Merwin knows how much to say and when. As such, I was incredibly excited to encounter Merwin in his closely related role as a literary translator. Sad to say, I was disappointed in the way most of these translated works read. They had little of the flow and sharpness of Merwin's own poems. Many of them fell flat, they didm't retain the original magic that I am sure drew Merwin in the first place. There are, however, some gems that stuck out to me such as the English translation of a little-known Spanish language poem in which the poet compares the fading of his lover's image to the disappearing of smoke into air. If you have a deep love for Merwin and are willing to patiently wade through a good number of mediocre translations to arrive at the bank of a couple stunning gems, then I would recommend this book to you.

[Kathy Duffy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poems from ancient times to recent times, Poems from South America to Russia. From Jorge Luis Borges to Eskimo and an ancient Prayer to the Corn the Field. An astonishing selection.