Poetry Magazine
Some Last Questions
W. S. Merwin, “Some Last Questions” from The Second Four Books of Poems (Port Townsend, Washington: Copper Canyon Press, 1993). Copyright © 1993 by W. S. Merwin. Reprinted with the permission of The Wylie Agency, Inc.
Source: Poetry (September 1964).
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This poem originally appeared in the September 1964 issue of Poetry magazine
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Biography
W.S. Merwin is a major American writer whose poetry, translations, and prose have won praise since W.H. Auden awarded his first book, A Mask for Janus (1952), the Yale Younger Poets Prize. Though that first book reflected the formalism of the period, Merwin eventually became known for an impersonal, open style that eschewed punctuation. Writing in the Guardian, Jay Parini described Merwin’s mature style as “his own kind of free . . .
Poems by W. S. Merwin
Poem Categorization
Poetic Terms Imagery, Free Verse, Metaphor
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