W.S. Merwin Wins Second Pulitzer Prize

by Danny Fisher

Via the awesome Rod Meade Sperry over at Shambhala Sun Space: W.S. Merwin was the recipient of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his chapbook The Shadow of Sirius. The Associated Press reports:

    This is the second Pulitzer for Merwin, whose writing career can be traced to the hymns he wrote as a child and who won in 1971 for “The Carrier of Ladders.” The Princeton-educated son of a Presbyterian minister, Merwin has published more than 20 books of poetry and nearly as many works in translation from Latin, Spanish and French.

    In 1976 he moved to Hawaii to study with a Zen Buddhist master. Since then, his work has been marked by his passionate commitment to Buddhism and environmentalism. The judges described the book as “a collection of luminous, often tender poems that focus on the profound power of memory.”

Congrats, Mr. Merwin!