W.S. Merwin — For The Anniversary of My Death

W.S. Merwin — For The Anniversary of My Death

W.S. Merwin’s “For The Anniversary of My Death” is a slim, precise poem — just 13 lines made up of 84 words — about the very weightiest of subjects, one’s future death. With it, Merwin has crafted an elegant vessel, a small and sturdy container to hold some of life’s big questions, uncertainties, and feelings. Are you ready to gaze at it, grasp it, sit with it? And as you contemplate death, he gently reminds, remain here — where there’s rain, birdsong, and life right in front of you.

W.S. Merwin was born in New York City in 1927 and attended Princeton University on a scholarship. He worked as a tutor and freelance translator before publishing his first collection of poetry, A Mask for Janus (1952), which won the Yale Series of Younger Poets award, selected by W.H. Auden. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry twice — for The Carrier of Ladders (1971) and for The Shadow of Sirius (2008). In 2005, he won the National Book Award for Migration: New and Selected Poems. Merwin also served as a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and two terms as the U.S. poet laureate, among numerous other awards and honors. He died in 2019 at his home on the island of Maui, Hawaii, at the age of 91.

Find the transcript for this show at onbeing.org.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(222)

Poetry Unbound in Conversation — Kimberly Campenello part 1 of 2

Poetry Unbound in Conversation — Kimberly Campenello part 1 of 2

“It's about seeing, through reading, whether where you are going has been or is now or will be written, or not.” This deliciously twisty line is from Kimberly Campanello’s ongoing versioning of Dante’...

26 Jun 50min

Poetry Unbound in Conversation — Rachel Mann and Yomi Ṣode

Poetry Unbound in Conversation — Rachel Mann and Yomi Ṣode

“Poetry should be horrifying,” says Rachel Mann. “It should be … on the edge of the edge of what could be said.” We are delighted to bring you this vibrant conversation featuring Rachel and Yomi Ṣode ...

12 Jun 55min

Poetry Unbound in Conversation — Fady Joudah

Poetry Unbound in Conversation — Fady Joudah

From a young age, says Palestinian American poet and physician Fady Joudah, “I had such a fascination with the way the alphabet makes music in the mind.” We are thrilled to offer this thoughtful conve...

29 Mai 46min

Poetry Unbound in Conversation — Don McKay

Poetry Unbound in Conversation — Don McKay

“I still have the best three-point shot of any Canadian poet born before 1943” is one of the first things that acclaimed poet Don McKay says in this expansive and intimate exchange. We are thrilled to...

15 Mai 45min

Poetry Unbound Bonus — Walter de la Mare

Poetry Unbound Bonus — Walter de la Mare

Host Pádraig Ó Tuama shares “The Listeners” by Walter de la Mare, a favorite childhood poem of his, and offers an audio postscript to Season 10 of Poetry Unbound. Later in 2026, he will bring us more ...

9 Mar 9min

Leonard Cohen — Book of Mercy “I,8”

Leonard Cohen — Book of Mercy “I,8”

Have you ever watched, in awe, as a skilled gymnast or skater lifts off and completes a dizzying number of revolutions in less than a second before landing safely back down? That’s how you may feel up...

6 Mar 16min

Billy-Ray Belcourt — Subarctica

Billy-Ray Belcourt — Subarctica

Will you leave this episode feeling uplifted, envious, curious, or something else entirely? Yes. Billy-Ray Belcourt’s poem “Subarctica” transports you to a vividly specific time — “the coldest Decembe...

2 Mar 17min

Ruth Irupé Sanabria — Carne

Ruth Irupé Sanabria — Carne

Ruth Irupé Sanabria’s delicious and dexterous “Carne” begins with these lines: “I've eaten pork from / pernil to chuletas to chitterlings.” And just in case you were wondering — and even if you’re not...

27 Feb 17min

Populært innen Samfunn

rss-spartsklubben
giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
konspirasjonspodden
rss-nesten-hele-uka-med-lepperod
popradet
rss-henlagt-andy-larsgaard
bokmerket-2
alt-fortalt
rss-espen-lee-usensurert
sophie-leser
wolfgang-wee-uncut
grenselos
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
synnve-og-vanessa
frokostshowet-pa-p5
fladseth
rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
rss-siktet